Ernst Meyer
- E-mail:
ernst@pet.mni.mcgill.ca
- STRONG>Office Phone:(514) 398-xxx
- Office FAX:
(514) 398-8948
Welcome to Ernst's homepage. I am a senior member of
the
McConnell Brain Imaging Center. I studied physics at the
Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Zurich (ETH), recieved my master's at
Ecole Polytechnique (Universite de
Montreal) in physical engineering with a twist towards
physiology and finally obtained
a Ph.D. in the department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill.
I joined the MNI in the winter of 1972 to work in Brain Scan. There, I
had the opportunity to contribute to the development of the first
operational Positron Emission Tomograph in the world around 1975. I have been
associated with PET research ever since. Some of my scientific, and other,
interests are listed below.
I am also the Radiation Safety Officer
of the MNH/I. In my spare time, I play the trumpet in a Dixieland band at odd
hours, and the piano on special occasions.
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute,
Dept. of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine,
and Medical Physics Unit, McGill University.
Diploma (ETH, Zurich), M.Sc. (U of Montreal), Ph.D. (McGill)
Fellow: Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine.
Member: ABPIQ
Research Topics:
- Methodology and modeling related to positron
emission tomography (PET), measurement of cerebral
blood flow (CBF) and metabolism, CBF activation
studies, clinical applications of PET.
Radiation dosimetry applied to PET procedures.
Modeling of neuroreceptor systems.
- The proper acquisition and meaningful interpretation of positron emission
tomographic (PET) data requires the development of adequate methodologies
and physiological models. We have recently been successful in refining the
measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF), oxygen consumption and glucose
metabolism. We are presently studying the responses of these variables to a
number of physiological stimulations as well as their degree of coupling as
a function of stimulus type and stimulus duration. Since our revised,
more realistic models invariably contain a vascular compartment, we
are now able to investigate, in addition to the above parameters,
the regional vascular responses of the brain to physiological and cognitive
stimuli.
- The research potential of PET has long been recognized. More recently,
however, a number of possible clinical applications have emerged. An
exciting new field of such applications which we are presently
exploring is the use of CBF activation PET studies for the non-invasive
presurgical mapping of important cerebral structures such as areas
related to sensori-motor or language function in patients suffering
from arterio-venous malformations and epilepsy.
- The in-vivo study of neuroreceptor systems represents a major component
of PET'simmediate future. A number of methodological issues remain to be
evaluated in this relatively young discipline. Computer simulations are a
powerful tool to assess some of the problems in this field.
Selected recent publications:
- Meyer E: Simultaneous correction for tracer arrival delay and dispersion
in CBF measurements by the H215O autoradiographic method
and dynamic PET. J Nucl Med 30:1069-1078, 1989.
- Leblanc R and Meyer E: Functional PET scanning in the assessment of
cerebral arteriovenous malformations: Case report. J Neurosurg 73:615-
619, 1990.
- Meyer E, Ferguson S, Zatorre RJ, Alivisatos B, Marrett S, Evans AC,
Hakim AM: Attention modulates somatosensory CBF response to
vibrotactile stimulation as measured by PET. Ann Neurol 29:440-443,
1991.
- Talbot JD, Marrett S, Evans AC, Meyer E, Bushnell MC, Duncan GH:
Multiple representations of pain in human cerebral cortex.
Science 251(March 15):1355-1358, 1991.
- Ohta S, Meyer E, Thompson CJ, and Gjedde A: Oxygen consumption of the
living human brain measured after a single inhalation of positron emitting
oxygen. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 12:179-192, 1991.
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August, 28th, 1995