Linking the cortical microstructure to oscillatory dynamics through in vivo imaging

Uncovering the intricate relationship between the brain’s structure and function remains a fundamental goal of the neuroscience field. Significantly, recent advancesin the neuroimaging field are now allowing for the investigation of this relationship at the microstructural level, opening up a wealth of new research possibilities. Of particular interest, is the ability to probe the myelin content of the cortex non- invasively and with high resolution. Notably a close relationship is known to exist between the cyto and myelo architecture of the brain and converging lines of evidence point to the potential existence of a relationship between myelination of the cortical grey matter and electrophysiological responses. Of particular interest in this regard are neural oscillations, which have been widely implicated in a variety of cognitive processes and clinical conditions. Thus, this thesis seeks to explore the possibility of investigating the relationship between a key aspect of the cortical microstructure, namely its myelin content and oscillatory dynamics in-vivo, through the use of highresolution 7T MRI in combination with MEG. Ultimately, the novel insights gained through this approach could have important implications for the understanding of brain structure-function relationships in both health and diseas