Nicole Schubert

Scientist

Degree: M.Sc., Diploma in mathematics (FH)

Fields of Reserach:

3D reconstruction of receptor autoradiograms

eurotransmitter receptors play a significant role in the transmission of signals between nerve cells. In neurological and psychiatric diseases receptor changes characterize the pathogenesis of these diseases. Therefore, it is essential to study the distribution of the receptors in the healthy brain in order to understand the changes caused by these diseases. This is possible using quantitative receptor autoradiography. Through them, the differences in the regional distribution of individual receptors can be detected. Here, postmortem brains are cut into thin slices, so that the spatial correlations of the cuts will be lost. Therefore, the autoradiograms have to be 3D reconstructed. The main challenge hereby are non-linear distortions of the brain tissue, occurring during the cutting process. For 3D reconstruction different image processing techniques are used.

Methodologies:

• Linear and nonlinear image registration
• Segmentation
• parallel processing of large data volumes
• Real-time 3D visualization (GPU)

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