NeuroSpin
INTENSE FIELDNEURO-IMAGING CENTER
A WINDOW TO THE WORKINGS
OF THE BRAINFROM PHYSICSTOTHE BRAINWATER DIFFUSION MRI IN A PATIENT
SUFFERING FROM CADASIL (GENETIC DISEASE)
DEMONSTRATING ANOMALIES IN THE CEREBRAL
WHITE MATTER (SHFJ/HÔPITAL LARIBOISIÈRECOLLABORATION).

CEA is a key player in research, development
and innovation in life and health sciences.
A better understanding of how the humanbrain works will have a direct impact on
health care (neuroradiology and medical
imaging, neurology, neurosurgery, adult andchild psychiatry, …), but also on society (communication between
individuals, education, ergonomics…).
This quest for an understanding of the brain is a major scientific andtechnical endehavior which requires close cooperation between anumber of experts of many disciplines, such as physics, mathematics, data processing, neurosciences, human and social sciences, ...
The CEA’s ability to develop and innovate is the result of its deeprooted crossed culture of engineers, researchers and physicians. This
well-mixed environment is found in top-level basic and appliedresearch, a necessary requirement for the emergence of newconcepts.
Within this setting, CEA houses several centers to design, develop
and make available all of the major physical instruments dedicatedto in vivo imaging. NeuroSpin is one of them, fully dedicated to thestudy of the functional architecture of the human brain.

3T MRI SYSTEM INSTALLED AT SERVICEHOSPITALIER FRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT (SHFJ).
BRAIN IMAGING CONFIRMS THE HYPOTHESISOF THE SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION OF WORDS.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO SHOW THAT A SUB-UNIT
OF THE REGIONS INVOLVED IN THE CONSCIOUS
READING PROCESS IS ALSO UNCONSCIOUSLY
ACTIVATED DURING THE SUBLIMINAL PRESENTATIONOF WORDS.

NeuroSpin
INTENSE FIELDNEURO-IMAGING CENTER
A WINDOW TO THE WORKINGS
OF THE BRAINFROM PHYSICSTOTHE BRAINWATER DIFFUSION MRI IN A PATIENT
SUFFERING FROM CADASIL (GENETIC DISEASE)
DEMONSTRATING ANOMALIES IN THE CEREBRAL
WHITE MATTER (SHFJ/HÔPITAL LARIBOISIÈRECOLLABORATION).

CEA is a key player in research, development
and innovation in life and health sciences.
A better understanding of how the humanbrain works will have a direct impact on
health care (neuroradiology and medical
imaging, neurology, neurosurgery, adult andchild psychiatry, …), but also on society (communication between
individuals, education, ergonomics…).
This quest for an understanding of the brain is a major scientific andtechnical endehavior which requires close cooperation between anumber of experts of many disciplines, such as physics, mathematics, data processing, neurosciences, human and social sciences, ...
The CEA’s ability to develop and innovate is the result of its deeprooted crossed culture of engineers, researchers and physicians. This
well-mixed environment is found in top-level basic and appliedresearch, a necessary requirement for the emergence of newconcepts.
Within this setting, CEA houses several centers to design, develop
and make available all of the major physical instruments dedicatedto in vivo imaging. NeuroSpin is one of them, fully dedicated to thestudy of the functional architecture of the human brain.

3T MRI SYSTEM INSTALLED AT SERVICEHOSPITALIER FRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT (SHFJ).
BRAIN IMAGING CONFIRMS THE HYPOTHESISOF THE SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION OF WORDS.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO SHOW THAT A SUB-UNIT
OF THE REGIONS INVOLVED IN THE CONSCIOUS
READING PROCESS IS ALSO UNCONSCIOUSLY
ACTIVATED DURING THE SUBLIMINAL PRESENTATIONOF WORDS.

3D DISPLAY FROM MRI OF A BRAIN HEMISPHERE
SHOWING SULCI AND CONNECTIONS.
PLANNED SITE OF NEUROSPIN(CEA SACLAY, SAINT AUBIN VILLAGE).

A

UNIQUEIMAGING
PLATFORM

The goal of NeuroSpin is to push the current limits of brain imaging,from the mouse to man, as far as possible with very high magnetic
field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). NMR imaging (MRI) canbe used to observe deep organs totally non-invasively. The more
intense the magnetic field, the greater the sensitivity, allowing moredetails to be seen. Benefiting from CEA know-how in the conceptionof magnets and NMR, this technical platform will be equipped withunrivalled NMR imaging tools.
Located in Saint-Aubin, within the CEA Saclay center, this imaging
platform will be unique in Europe. It will bring together exceptional
resources and very efficient tools (original supraconducting magnets,
powerful computers, laboratories, multidisciplinary teams…). It willcomplete the existing installations at the Service Hospitalier FrédéricJoliot in Orsay dedicated to radioisotope imaging and, in particular,
positon emission tomography (PET).

18
N1

06
D9

44

(Bicêtre)(Fontenay-aux-Roses)

INRA

6

A8
6

D 36

CEA (Saclay)
NEUROSPINSHFJ (Orsay)

École Polytechnique(Palaiseau)

Université Paris Sud(orsay)A6

CNRSSupelec

A

10(Gif-sur -Yvette)

Federating a great many regional, national
and international partnerships, NeuroSpin
will be a true drive towards technologicalinnovation and distribution that will also
contribute the industrial and economic fabric of the Paris Region.
1.5T MRI SCANNER AT SERVICEHOSPITALIER FRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT (SHFJ).

3D DISPLAY OF MRI (ANATOMY)AND PET IMAGES (DISTRIBUTION OF
NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN THE BASAL GANGLIA).

Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot
4, place du Général Leclerc
91406 ORSAY

TO FIND OUT MORE …
CEA LIFE SCIENCES DIVISION
31-33 RUE DE LA FÉDÉRATION
75752 PARIS CEDEX 15
www-dsv.cea.fr

CEA Direction des sciences du vivant. Photos : CEA, CEA/SHFJ, CEA/L. Médard, CEA/Oasis, CEA/Inserm, CEA/CNRS.

7

N 446

36

N3
06
N 118

(Jouy-en-Josas)
D

CIERM

CEA

A6

A 86
D

D 11

Grouping physicists and neurobiologists, in close collaboration withother government research agencies and universities, in particular fromthe Paris Region, open to the national and international community,
the NeuroSpin platform will co-ordinate
research, provide a network of skills and an
optimisation of means. About 150
researchers, physicians, students, engineers,technicians, … are expected to develop
innovative tools and methodologies, andapply them to neurobiology at large, fromneurogenetics and neurophysiology to cognitive neurosciences and clinical neurology.

PARIS

Each year, a growing percentage of the population in the developed countries suffers from neurological or psychiatric diseases.
Large amounts of money are spent for the treatment and rehabilitation of these patients. Life expectancy is increasing and thepotential beneﬁts from research on the workings of the brain in anageing population are obvious. In addition, this research can also
greatly beneﬁt our societies by, for example, providing a deeper
understanding of the communication processes between individuals, group behaviour or the optimization of learning methods.
New types of « biological » computers based on the workings ofthe brain may be designed. The man-machineinterface (robot design, ergonomics of plane
cockpits or car dashboards, …) may be improvedby our understanding of the workings of thebrain. The stakes
involved are huge
and the even partial understanding of the humanbrain is one of thechallenges of thisIn this exploratory quest, neurofunctional imaging has overcentury.
whelmed the life sciences. It now has a unique place by provid-

U

NDERSTAND
THE BRAIN
BY THE IMAGE

ing in vitro and in situ data on the workings of all livingorganisms in a non invasive manner. It not only completes, but
it also sharpens the biological data coming from otherapproaches (such as molecular biology and electrophysiology…).
The images obtained provide both anatomic data (arrangementof tissues in organs) and functional data (metabolic status, forexample).
In general, biomedical imaging has imposed itself over the last
few years in a great many areas of biology and medicine. It has
mainly developed in two directions: functional cerebral imaging
and molecular imaging.
• Functional cerebral imaging involves the study of human cognitive processes in the normal and diseased brain. It aims at connecting the upper cognitive functions (perception of objects,
language, attention, memory, logic, action...) with their biological component, their neural correlates. Neuro-imaging has today
become indispensable in the cognitive neurosciences. It is used
to understand the cerebral bases involved in human cognitive
processes in both normal subjects and in patients.
• Molecular imaging involves the development of imaging methods to watch the workings of the cells. Associated with functional
genomics it will eventually help translate the huge deposit ofknowledge on the genome into functional data that can be usedin physiology, physiopathology or pharmacology. With suchtools it is becoming possible to watch, functionally and anatomically, the development of the brain of mouse embryos and tomonitor how gene defects can translate into anatomical or functional abnormalities later in life. The understanding, prevention
or treatment of neurological diseases caused by genetic or
acquired anomalies during the development of the brain is amajor stake involved at NeuroSpin

3D RENDERING FROM MRI IMAGES OBTAINEDIN A FOETUS IN UTERO SHOWING THE STATUS OF
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAIN FOLDING PATTERNS.
(SHFJ/ HÔPITAL NECKER COLLABORATION).
3D RENDERING OF MICROSCOPY MRI IMAGESOBTAINED IN A MOUSE EMBRYO 13.5 DAYS AFTER
CONCEPTION (COURTESY OF R. JACOB, CALTECH).

MRI IMAGES SHOWING THE BRAIN REGIONS THATWERE SUBJECT TO INFARCTION IN A STROKE PATIENT(SHFJ/HÔPITAL LARIBOISIÈRE COLLABORATION).
3D DISPLAY FROM MRI IMAGES SHOWINGTHE STRUCTURES INVOLVED IN THE READINGOF WORDS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. THE
CONNECTIONS ARE INTERRUPTED IN THIS PATIENTWITH A LESION OF THE CORPUS CALLOSUM.

Biomedical imaging still comes up against a certain number oftechnical constraints that limit its potential: the current resolution
in space (millimeters) greatly exceeds the size of the neurons, thefunctional units underlying brain activity; the temporal resolution
is generally close to the second when the millisecond would be
more representative of the processes involved; the parameters
visualised (such as blood flow) only indirectly reflect the functioning of the neurons.
To overcome these obstacles and push the current limits in imaging as far as possible, CEA has decided to build a technical platform where unequalled imaging tools will be developed andused. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been chosen as
the privileged physics modality.
NMR is based on the magnetic properties of the nuclei of atoms.
It uses a magnet with a high and homogenous magnetic field, as
well as specialized electronic and computer equipment. NMR
provides access to a great many different molecules and physicalparameters in a non-invasive manner and without the use ofradioactive isotopes. Measuring very low tissue magnetisation,
NMR can be used to obtain a very precise, tridimensional view ofdeep organs. The greater the magnetic field, the higher the sensitivity, and the higher the spatial or temporal resolution that canbe achieved.

V

ERY HIGH
FIELD MAGNETICRESONANCE

Most NMR imaging systems (or MRI) currently installed in hospitals operate with magnetic fields that do not exceed 1.5 T*.
The development of more ambitious research protocols requires
apparatus with a higher field (>3 T). Recently, very high fielddevices operating at 7 or 8 T for studies on man have beendeveloped in the U.S.A. Magnets with high and homogenous
magnetic fields are at the heart of the NMR apparatus developed. They are made of superconducting wires cooled in liquid
helium.
« Turnkey systems » operating at 4.7 T and 9.4 T already exist
for animal studies. They are used for quasi-industrial biologicalor pharmacological applications. Even more efficient systems areavailable with 11 T or even 17 T magnets with diameters ranging from 10 to 40 cm. For human applications, the design ofmagnets capable of the utmost field intensity, beyond 10 T, on
diameters close to 1 m remain a technological challenge.
Facing this technological challenge, NeuroSpin will be equippedwith several types of intense field nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) imaging units:• A 3 T system for clinical trials (normal subjects and patients),• Two high field systems (>10 T) for pre-clinical and clinical trials,• A very high field system (>17 T) dedicated to small animals(mouse).
(*) the tesla is the magnetic field unit : the terrestrial magnetic field in Paris is 0.00005 tesla

The know-how in the design of those magnets is
also a specificity of CEA (Matter Sciences Division) which already contributes to the equipmentof particle accelerators at CERN and the creationof associated detectors.

THE ORIGINAL ASPECT OF
NEUROSPIN IS TO BRING TOGETHER
TOP-LEVEL METHODOLOGISTS AND
NEUROBIOLOGISTS IN THE SAME PLACE:
Together and in synergy, they will develop the tools
and models required to push back the limits ofimaging in the exploration of the brain as far as possible. These methodologies will help better understand the workings of the human brain as well as its
anomalies during development and dysfunction.

Each year, a growing percentage of the population in the developed countries suffers from neurological or psychiatric diseases.
Large amounts of money are spent for the treatment and rehabilitation of these patients. Life expectancy is increasing and thepotential beneﬁts from research on the workings of the brain in anageing population are obvious. In addition, this research can also
greatly beneﬁt our societies by, for example, providing a deeper
understanding of the communication processes between individuals, group behaviour or the optimization of learning methods.
New types of « biological » computers based on the workings ofthe brain may be designed. The man-machineinterface (robot design, ergonomics of plane
cockpits or car dashboards, …) may be improvedby our understanding of the workings of thebrain. The stakes
involved are huge
and the even partial understanding of the humanbrain is one of thechallenges of thisIn this exploratory quest, neurofunctional imaging has overcentury.
whelmed the life sciences. It now has a unique place by provid-

U

NDERSTAND
THE BRAIN
BY THE IMAGE

ing in vitro and in situ data on the workings of all livingorganisms in a non invasive manner. It not only completes, but
it also sharpens the biological data coming from otherapproaches (such as molecular biology and electrophysiology…).
The images obtained provide both anatomic data (arrangementof tissues in organs) and functional data (metabolic status, forexample).
In general, biomedical imaging has imposed itself over the last
few years in a great many areas of biology and medicine. It has
mainly developed in two directions: functional cerebral imaging
and molecular imaging.
• Functional cerebral imaging involves the study of human cognitive processes in the normal and diseased brain. It aims at connecting the upper cognitive functions (perception of objects,
language, attention, memory, logic, action...) with their biological component, their neural correlates. Neuro-imaging has today
become indispensable in the cognitive neurosciences. It is used
to understand the cerebral bases involved in human cognitive
processes in both normal subjects and in patients.
• Molecular imaging involves the development of imaging methods to watch the workings of the cells. Associated with functional
genomics it will eventually help translate the huge deposit ofknowledge on the genome into functional data that can be usedin physiology, physiopathology or pharmacology. With suchtools it is becoming possible to watch, functionally and anatomically, the development of the brain of mouse embryos and tomonitor how gene defects can translate into anatomical or functional abnormalities later in life. The understanding, prevention
or treatment of neurological diseases caused by genetic or
acquired anomalies during the development of the brain is amajor stake involved at NeuroSpin

3D RENDERING FROM MRI IMAGES OBTAINEDIN A FOETUS IN UTERO SHOWING THE STATUS OF
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAIN FOLDING PATTERNS.
(SHFJ/ HÔPITAL NECKER COLLABORATION).
3D RENDERING OF MICROSCOPY MRI IMAGESOBTAINED IN A MOUSE EMBRYO 13.5 DAYS AFTER
CONCEPTION (COURTESY OF R. JACOB, CALTECH).

MRI IMAGES SHOWING THE BRAIN REGIONS THATWERE SUBJECT TO INFARCTION IN A STROKE PATIENT(SHFJ/HÔPITAL LARIBOISIÈRE COLLABORATION).
3D DISPLAY FROM MRI IMAGES SHOWINGTHE STRUCTURES INVOLVED IN THE READINGOF WORDS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. THE
CONNECTIONS ARE INTERRUPTED IN THIS PATIENTWITH A LESION OF THE CORPUS CALLOSUM.

Biomedical imaging still comes up against a certain number oftechnical constraints that limit its potential: the current resolution
in space (millimeters) greatly exceeds the size of the neurons, thefunctional units underlying brain activity; the temporal resolution
is generally close to the second when the millisecond would be
more representative of the processes involved; the parameters
visualised (such as blood flow) only indirectly reflect the functioning of the neurons.
To overcome these obstacles and push the current limits in imaging as far as possible, CEA has decided to build a technical platform where unequalled imaging tools will be developed andused. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been chosen as
the privileged physics modality.
NMR is based on the magnetic properties of the nuclei of atoms.
It uses a magnet with a high and homogenous magnetic field, as
well as specialized electronic and computer equipment. NMR
provides access to a great many different molecules and physicalparameters in a non-invasive manner and without the use ofradioactive isotopes. Measuring very low tissue magnetisation,
NMR can be used to obtain a very precise, tridimensional view ofdeep organs. The greater the magnetic field, the higher the sensitivity, and the higher the spatial or temporal resolution that canbe achieved.

V

ERY HIGH
FIELD MAGNETICRESONANCE

Most NMR imaging systems (or MRI) currently installed in hospitals operate with magnetic fields that do not exceed 1.5 T*.
The development of more ambitious research protocols requires
apparatus with a higher field (>3 T). Recently, very high fielddevices operating at 7 or 8 T for studies on man have beendeveloped in the U.S.A. Magnets with high and homogenous
magnetic fields are at the heart of the NMR apparatus developed. They are made of superconducting wires cooled in liquid
helium.
« Turnkey systems » operating at 4.7 T and 9.4 T already exist
for animal studies. They are used for quasi-industrial biologicalor pharmacological applications. Even more efficient systems areavailable with 11 T or even 17 T magnets with diameters ranging from 10 to 40 cm. For human applications, the design ofmagnets capable of the utmost field intensity, beyond 10 T, on
diameters close to 1 m remain a technological challenge.
Facing this technological challenge, NeuroSpin will be equippedwith several types of intense field nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) imaging units:• A 3 T system for clinical trials (normal subjects and patients),• Two high field systems (>10 T) for pre-clinical and clinical trials,• A very high field system (>17 T) dedicated to small animals(mouse).
(*) the tesla is the magnetic field unit : the terrestrial magnetic field in Paris is 0.00005 tesla

The know-how in the design of those magnets is
also a specificity of CEA (Matter Sciences Division) which already contributes to the equipmentof particle accelerators at CERN and the creationof associated detectors.

THE ORIGINAL ASPECT OF
NEUROSPIN IS TO BRING TOGETHER
TOP-LEVEL METHODOLOGISTS AND
NEUROBIOLOGISTS IN THE SAME PLACE:
Together and in synergy, they will develop the tools
and models required to push back the limits ofimaging in the exploration of the brain as far as possible. These methodologies will help better understand the workings of the human brain as well as its
anomalies during development and dysfunction.

3D DISPLAY FROM MRI IMAGESOF THE MOTOR CORTEX AND CENTRAL STRUCTURESAS WELL AS THEIR CONNECTIONS.

A

GREAT
INSTRUMENT FOR
THE NEUROSCIENCES

3T MRI SCANNER AT SERVICEHOSPITALIER FRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT (SHFJ)AN INTERFACE BETWEEN PHYSICIANSAND NEUROBIOLOGISTS
About 150 researchers, physicians, clinicians, biologists, engineers and technicians will work together at NeuroSpin• The methodology teams will be in charge of pushing the current technical limits of imaging and create new approaches, fromimaging methods to mathematical models and software forimage analysis, to map the basic biological parameters needed tounderstand the brain.
• The neurosciencists, neuropsychologists, and clinicians will
benefit from these methodological contributions for their own
research programs, whether it consists of molecular or cellularbiology, neurobiology of development and post-genomics, neurosciences or cognitive sciences.
This specific interface between methodologists, neurobiologists
and physicians creates an exceptional environment necessary to
break the current limitations of neuroimaging in order to better
understand the workings, development and dysfunction of thehuman brain.

A CENTER WITH A NATIONALAND INTERNATIONAL PROFIL
This center, with a national and international vocation, combining “avant-garde”
methodology developments and applications in neurobiological areas of the highest
interest, will update and complete the Paris
region imaging platform network. These
equipments, as well as that of nearby existing centers will comfortably position itself in
Europe facing similar set-ups in other prestigious institutions, such as NIH or the Harvard-MIT complex in the U.S.A.
With this national and international profil,
NeuroSpin will aim at becoming part of aEuropean Excellence network. An integral
part of the CEA Saclay center near the Institut
National des Sciences et Techniques
Nucléaires, located in the village of SaintAubin (Essonne), NeuroSpin falls within the methodological complementarity of Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ) in Orsay
where a technical platform for radio-isotopic imaging is alreadyfound. This platform is unique in Europe. Their geographic proximity and their management by the same agency are keys to success.

NMR SPECTRUM OF THE BRAIN REVEALINGTHE PRESENCE OF A GREAT MANYCHEMICAL COMPLEXES INVOLVEDIN THE WORKINGS OF THE BRAIN(NEUROTRANSMITTERS, METABOLITES).
SPECTRUM OBTAINED IN MAN WITH 7 T(COURTESY DR. TKAC, CMRR,MINNEAPOLIS).

SERVICE HOSPITALIERFRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT IN ORSAYA

GROUPING
OF RESOURCES FORA REGIONAL POLICY

The proximity of these instruments with the university campus of Orsay,
the Nuclear Physics Institute (IPN), Nuclear and particle physics (IN2P3),
the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) laboratories in
Gif-sur-Yvette (in particular in the fields of neurosciences and NMR),
Institut d’Optique and the schools of engineering, as well as the partnerships formed long ago within the SHFJ between CEA, CNRS, INSERM(The French Institute of Health and Medical Research), Public Assistanceto the Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP), the universities (Paris XI and Paris VI
in particular), the schools of engineering (“Grandes Ecoles”: ENST, Polytechnique, ENS, Supélec, Centrale,…) federate human skills and technical resources.
• Created 40 years ago, the Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ) is
now at the heart of the Institut Fédératif de Recherche (IFR 49: Neurofunctional Imaging) which federates teams from several research agencies.
• The center in Fontenay-aux-roses (CEA) is planning the constructionof a gene therapy platform (ImaGene) and man-robot interface that willcomplete the SHFJ and NeuroSpin installations.
• CIERM (Hôpital de Bicêtre) is developing MRI methods for clinical purposes, in particular in the cardio-vascular field and very high resolution
MRI. It trains a large number of imaging clinicians in the Paris Region.
• The Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital complex (AP-HP, French Muscular Dystrophy Association AFM) already has strong links with SHFJ with very
active collaborations in neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry. It plansto obtain a MRI instrument operating at 3 T. This complex also has a
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) research center (LENA) of the highest
level and is currently testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
• INRIA (The French National Institute for Research in computer scienceand control), INRA (The French National Institute of Agronomic
Research), The Pasteur Institute and or the Evry Genopole also arepotentially interested in the development of this technical platform.
Established near the SOLEIL synchrotron project, NeuroSpin will benefit
from the planned infrastructures (service areas, housing...) to welcome
students, researchers, new research teams or for the establishment ofindustrialists interested in these activities.Patent applications, transfer toindustry, development of small and medium-size industry responding to
the need for aid in imaging (design of protocols, creation of data banks,
optimization of data acquisition, data processing,…), teams of hospital
technical platforms or transient collaborators will certainly arise from
NeuroSpin.
NeuroSpin will help make the « Saclay plateau », in the south of Paris, aprivileged place for the development of research centers, major physicaland biological instruments as well as an important industrial, scientificand technical network.

SHFJ POSITRON EMISSIONTOMOGRAPHY CAMERA (TEP).

3D DISPLAY FROM MRI IMAGESOF THE MOTOR CORTEX AND CENTRAL STRUCTURESAS WELL AS THEIR CONNECTIONS.

A

GREAT
INSTRUMENT FOR
THE NEUROSCIENCES

3T MRI SCANNER AT SERVICEHOSPITALIER FRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT (SHFJ)AN INTERFACE BETWEEN PHYSICIANSAND NEUROBIOLOGISTS
About 150 researchers, physicians, clinicians, biologists, engineers and technicians will work together at NeuroSpin• The methodology teams will be in charge of pushing the current technical limits of imaging and create new approaches, fromimaging methods to mathematical models and software forimage analysis, to map the basic biological parameters needed tounderstand the brain.
• The neurosciencists, neuropsychologists, and clinicians will
benefit from these methodological contributions for their own
research programs, whether it consists of molecular or cellularbiology, neurobiology of development and post-genomics, neurosciences or cognitive sciences.
This specific interface between methodologists, neurobiologists
and physicians creates an exceptional environment necessary to
break the current limitations of neuroimaging in order to better
understand the workings, development and dysfunction of thehuman brain.

A CENTER WITH A NATIONALAND INTERNATIONAL PROFIL
This center, with a national and international vocation, combining “avant-garde”
methodology developments and applications in neurobiological areas of the highest
interest, will update and complete the Paris
region imaging platform network. These
equipments, as well as that of nearby existing centers will comfortably position itself in
Europe facing similar set-ups in other prestigious institutions, such as NIH or the Harvard-MIT complex in the U.S.A.
With this national and international profil,
NeuroSpin will aim at becoming part of aEuropean Excellence network. An integral
part of the CEA Saclay center near the Institut
National des Sciences et Techniques
Nucléaires, located in the village of SaintAubin (Essonne), NeuroSpin falls within the methodological complementarity of Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ) in Orsay
where a technical platform for radio-isotopic imaging is alreadyfound. This platform is unique in Europe. Their geographic proximity and their management by the same agency are keys to success.

NMR SPECTRUM OF THE BRAIN REVEALINGTHE PRESENCE OF A GREAT MANYCHEMICAL COMPLEXES INVOLVEDIN THE WORKINGS OF THE BRAIN(NEUROTRANSMITTERS, METABOLITES).
SPECTRUM OBTAINED IN MAN WITH 7 T(COURTESY DR. TKAC, CMRR,MINNEAPOLIS).

SERVICE HOSPITALIERFRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT IN ORSAYA

GROUPING
OF RESOURCES FORA REGIONAL POLICY

The proximity of these instruments with the university campus of Orsay,
the Nuclear Physics Institute (IPN), Nuclear and particle physics (IN2P3),
the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) laboratories in
Gif-sur-Yvette (in particular in the fields of neurosciences and NMR),
Institut d’Optique and the schools of engineering, as well as the partnerships formed long ago within the SHFJ between CEA, CNRS, INSERM(The French Institute of Health and Medical Research), Public Assistanceto the Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP), the universities (Paris XI and Paris VI
in particular), the schools of engineering (“Grandes Ecoles”: ENST, Polytechnique, ENS, Supélec, Centrale,…) federate human skills and technical resources.
• Created 40 years ago, the Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ) is
now at the heart of the Institut Fédératif de Recherche (IFR 49: Neurofunctional Imaging) which federates teams from several research agencies.
• The center in Fontenay-aux-roses (CEA) is planning the constructionof a gene therapy platform (ImaGene) and man-robot interface that willcomplete the SHFJ and NeuroSpin installations.
• CIERM (Hôpital de Bicêtre) is developing MRI methods for clinical purposes, in particular in the cardio-vascular field and very high resolution
MRI. It trains a large number of imaging clinicians in the Paris Region.
• The Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital complex (AP-HP, French Muscular Dystrophy Association AFM) already has strong links with SHFJ with very
active collaborations in neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry. It plansto obtain a MRI instrument operating at 3 T. This complex also has a
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) research center (LENA) of the highest
level and is currently testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
• INRIA (The French National Institute for Research in computer scienceand control), INRA (The French National Institute of Agronomic
Research), The Pasteur Institute and or the Evry Genopole also arepotentially interested in the development of this technical platform.
Established near the SOLEIL synchrotron project, NeuroSpin will benefit
from the planned infrastructures (service areas, housing...) to welcome
students, researchers, new research teams or for the establishment ofindustrialists interested in these activities.Patent applications, transfer toindustry, development of small and medium-size industry responding to
the need for aid in imaging (design of protocols, creation of data banks,
optimization of data acquisition, data processing,…), teams of hospital
technical platforms or transient collaborators will certainly arise from
NeuroSpin.
NeuroSpin will help make the « Saclay plateau », in the south of Paris, aprivileged place for the development of research centers, major physicaland biological instruments as well as an important industrial, scientificand technical network.

SHFJ POSITRON EMISSIONTOMOGRAPHY CAMERA (TEP).

3D DISPLAY FROM MRI OF A BRAIN HEMISPHERE
SHOWING SULCI AND CONNECTIONS.
PLANNED SITE OF NEUROSPIN(CEA SACLAY, SAINT AUBIN VILLAGE).

A

UNIQUEIMAGING
PLATFORM

The goal of NeuroSpin is to push the current limits of brain imaging,from the mouse to man, as far as possible with very high magnetic
field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). NMR imaging (MRI) canbe used to observe deep organs totally non-invasively. The more
intense the magnetic field, the greater the sensitivity, allowing moredetails to be seen. Benefiting from CEA know-how in the conceptionof magnets and NMR, this technical platform will be equipped withunrivalled NMR imaging tools.
Located in Saint-Aubin, within the CEA Saclay center, this imaging
platform will be unique in Europe. It will bring together exceptional
resources and very efficient tools (original supraconducting magnets,
powerful computers, laboratories, multidisciplinary teams…). It willcomplete the existing installations at the Service Hospitalier FrédéricJoliot in Orsay dedicated to radioisotope imaging and, in particular,
positon emission tomography (PET).

18
N1

06
D9

44

(Bicêtre)(Fontenay-aux-Roses)

INRA

6

A8
6

D 36

CEA (Saclay)
NEUROSPINSHFJ (Orsay)

École Polytechnique(Palaiseau)

Université Paris Sud(orsay)A6

CNRSSupelec

A

10(Gif-sur -Yvette)

Federating a great many regional, national
and international partnerships, NeuroSpin
will be a true drive towards technologicalinnovation and distribution that will also
contribute the industrial and economic fabric of the Paris Region.
1.5T MRI SCANNER AT SERVICEHOSPITALIER FRÉDÉRIC JOLIOT (SHFJ).

3D DISPLAY OF MRI (ANATOMY)AND PET IMAGES (DISTRIBUTION OF
NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN THE BASAL GANGLIA).

Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot
4, place du Général Leclerc
91406 ORSAY

TO FIND OUT MORE …
CEA LIFE SCIENCES DIVISION
31-33 RUE DE LA FÉDÉRATION
75752 PARIS CEDEX 15
www-dsv.cea.fr

CEA Direction des sciences du vivant. Photos : CEA, CEA/SHFJ, CEA/L. Médard, CEA/Oasis, CEA/Inserm, CEA/CNRS.

7

N 446

36

N3
06
N 118

(Jouy-en-Josas)
D

CIERM

CEA

A6

A 86
D

D 11

Grouping physicists and neurobiologists, in close collaboration withother government research agencies and universities, in particular fromthe Paris Region, open to the national and international community,
the NeuroSpin platform will co-ordinate
research, provide a network of skills and an
optimisation of means. About 150
researchers, physicians, students, engineers,technicians, … are expected to develop
innovative tools and methodologies, andapply them to neurobiology at large, fromneurogenetics and neurophysiology to cognitive neurosciences and clinical neurology.

PARIS