Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory

About Us

At the heart of the psychiatry research programme, the Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory employs a range of brain imaging techniques to study the neurobiological underpinnings of the major affective and psychotic disorders.

At present, the laboratory focuses on the analysis of structural, diffusion, resting state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data using for example computational morphometry and tractography and connectivity studies. 

What Research do we focus on?

The laboratory's focus has been on 

•  Mapping of brain abnormalities associated with psychotic and affective disorders

• The relationship of such brain abnormalities to genetic and environmental risk factors, and to course of illness
• The extent to which psychotropic medications impact upon brain structure and function
• The association of brain abnormalities with genetic liability and genotypic variation
• Endophenotypic markers of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
• Neurobiological abnormalities associated with psychotic and affective disorders, including assessments of patients with first episode psychosis and with euthymic bipolar disorder

Who are we and when was the Laboratory established?

The Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory was founded by Prof. Colm McDonald and Prof. Dara Cannon in 2006. The lab has since been involved in a number of projects both locally, University College Hospital Galway, and further afield in collaboration with academic departments at the University of Southern California, Institute of Psychiatry, London, the University of Cambridge and the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Dublin. The cognition and genetics or CogGen Lab directed by Prof. Gary Donohue, Psychology and. Dr. Derek. Morris,  Biomedical Science, work closely together with us.