Through the Lens of High-Resolution Functional MRI: Revealing the Mesoscale Organization of the Human Visual System
Shahin Nasr, Harvard Medical School
Thursday, 03 September 2026, 11am to 12pm
Cowey Rooms, FMRIB Annexe
Hosted by Betina Ip
Join via TeamsHigh-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) has transformed our understanding of the mesoscale organization of the human visual system. Recent advances in high-resolution fMRI now allow us to investigate aspects of the functional organization of the human visual cortex that were previously inferred primarily from animal models. They also enable us to address questions that cannot be fully answered through animal research alone. Together, these advances provide an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the fine-scale organization of the living human brain and explore how it supports perception and cognition in health and disease.
Over the past decade, my colleagues and I in the MesoVision Lab at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging have used these advances to study the human visual cortex at the mesoscale. Our work has mapped the columnar organization of early visual areas, characterized the response properties of mesoscale cortical sites, investigated their functional interactions, and examined how developmental disorders reshape these fine-scale neural circuits in vivo.
This talk will trace the journey behind these discoveries, from developing new imaging technologies to uncovering principles of human cortical organization. Along the way, it will also highlight the people behind the science. Every figure, every experiment, and every scientific advance reflects the collective efforts of students, engineers, clinicians, research participants, collaborators, and mentors whose dedication and generosity have made this work possible.