Shahriar SheikhBahaei, Ph.D.
Dr. SheikhBahaei’s interest in neuroscience stemmed from the usual combination of an aptitude for science and a medical problem (stuttering) that brought him into bioscience at a young age. Dr. SheikhBahaei received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where he worked with Dr. Bob Zucker on the regulation of neurotransmitter release and Dr. John Rubenstein (UC San Francisco) on development of GABAergic neurons in basal ganglia. Dr. SheikhBahaei completed his doctoral studies in Neuroscience (2017) jointly under NIMH/NINDS – University College London (UCL) Graduate Partnership Program where he worked with Drs. Jeffrey Smith (NINDS) and Alexander Gourine (UCL). His graduate studies were on how astrocytic networks control activities of respiratory motor circuits within the brainstem. After short postdoctoral research at NINDS, Dr. SheikhBahaei became an Independent Research Scholar in 2019. In collaboration with the lab
Section on Functional Imaging Methods
The section on Functional Imaging Methods is within the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition and the National Institute of Mental Health. Functional MRI is a technique that utilizes time series collection of rapidly-obtained magnetic resonance images that are sensitive to localized brain activation induced hemodynamic changes. The utility of Functional MRI (fMRI) has been increasing since it was discovered in 1991. The limits of the technique (spatial and temporal resolution, interpretability of the signal, and applications) are determined by imaging technology, experimental and processing methodology, and the variable and undetermined relationship between neuronal activity and hemodynamic changes.