Christopher D. Kroenke
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Scientist, Advanced Imaging Research Center
Assistant Scientist, Oregon National Primate Research Center
Oregon Health & Science University
Major Areas: Brain development; Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy; Biophysics
Previous Positions
Postdoctoral Fellow, Washington University
Assistant Professor, Washington University
Education
B.A., 1992, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Ph.D., 1999, Columbia University, New York, NY
Research Interests
Important events in central nervous system development and pathology are often accompanied by cellular-level structural and physiological changes. In many cases, these physical transformations can be detected using magnetic resonance (MR) techniques. Our research focuses on understanding how cellular level properties of tissue contribute to observable MR signals. During gestational and early postnatal phases of brain development, dramatic changes in the shapes of neurons and glial cells affect water diffusion. These changes enable differentiation of the cerebral cortex, and development of axonal fiber tracts to be observed by analyzing diffusion-weighted MR images. We are using MR methodology to compare the developmental trajectories in normal and sensory-deprived animals, with the goal of understanding the anatomical underpinnings of behavioral differences between these two groups. Additionally, we are developing digital atlases to generate template anatomical models of the macaque brain at various stages of life spanning from infancy through old age. These template models will serve as reference points for comparisons with monkey models of pathology, substance abuse, anxiety and other behavioral disorders.
Kroenke CD, Bretthorst GL, Inder TE, and Neil JJ (2006) Modeling water diffusion anisotropy within fixed prenatal primate brain using bayesian probability theory . Magn. Reson. Med. 55: 187-197 .
Kroenke CD, Bretthorst GL, Inder TE, Neil JJ (2005) Diffusion MR Imaging Characteristics of the Developing Primate Brain. NeuroImage , 25: 1205-1213.
Goodman JA, Kroenke CD, Bretthorst GL, Ackerman JJH, Neil JJ (2005) The Sodium Ion Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in Living Rat Brain. Magn. Reson. Med., 53: 1040-1045.
Kroenke CD, Ackerman JJH, Yablonskiy DA (2004) On the Nature of the NAA Diffusion Attenuated MR Signal in the Central Nervous System Magn. Reson. Med., 52: 1052-1059.
Kroenke CD, Ackerman JJH, Neil JJ (2003) Magnetic resonance measurement of tetramethylammonium diffusion in rat brain: Comparison of magnetic resonance and ionophoresis in vivo diffusion measurements, Magn. Reson. Med. 50: 717-726.