Email

papageor@bcm.edu

Positions

Assistant Professor

Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Baylor College of Medicine

Assistant Professor

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Baylor College of Medicine

Assistant Professor

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Quantitative & Computational Biosciences
Baylor College of Medicine

Assistant Professor

Translational Biology & Molecular Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine

Assistant Professor

Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
https://www.bcm.edu/departments/neuroscience/faculty-staff/joint-neuroscience-faculty

Assistant Professor

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Development, Models, Disease, Therapeutics
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
https://www.bcm.edu/education/graduate-school-of-biomedical-sciences/programs/development-disease-models-therapeutics-graduate-program/research/faculty-research-by-disease/diseases-of-the-sensory-systems-blindness-vision-disorders-deafness-pain

Principal Investigator

Investigational Targeted Brain Neurotherapeutics Laboratory
Baylor College of Medicine

About the Lab - see also https://www.bcm.edu/research/labs-and-centers/faculty-labs/t-dorina-papageorgiou-lab: The T. Dorina Papageorgiou - Investigational Targeted Brain Neurotherapeutics Lab has developed a novel, targeted and individualized MRI-compatible brain computer interface (BCI) based on associative learning principles that can induce neuromodulation in patients with neurological sequelae following stroke (commonly a result of a posterior cerebral artery infarct, or a middle cerebral artery infarct), traumatic brain injury, or tumor resection. We call our MRI-BCI, individualized real-time functional MRI neurofeedback (iRTfMRI nFb), which is based on promoting the reorganization of networks by bypassing lesioned pathways and capitalizing on redundant, intact but functionally associated pathways to the injured ones. This is achieved by modulating the magnitude and spatial extent of Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal with the goal to recover the brain function, as a result of a neurological insult. We apply this investigational treatment to patients with impairments of the following cortical systems: 1. Retrochiasmal lesions downstream of the optic radiation, which result in cortical blindness. 2. Supra- or infra-nuclear injury to the hypoglossal or glossopharyngeal nucleus, which result in upper motor neuron disease (lesions upstream of the medulla oblongata that can impact somatomotor, and somatosensory areas) or lower motor neuron disease (lesions downstream of the medulla oblongata). 3. Pain matrix network areas, which result in impaired somatosensory and somatomotor pain matrix network activity as a result of CNS- or PNS-associated pain. Reorganization is possible by neuromodulating the spatial extent and intensity of the Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal to a patient's intact cortical area, which takes over in performing the function, as it has been impaired in the primary cortical areas following neurological injury. This investigational treatment engages associative learning mechanisms that modulate the activity of intact cortical areas with the goal to improve performance in patient populations with neurological sequelae as a result of stroke or, traumatic brain injury or, tumor resection. Papageorgiou Lab Focus Areas: Our goal is to understand how the brain learns specifically under induced learning conditions. The overall aims of our lab are to study the mechanisms of adaptive plasticity/reorganization of cortical functions using neuroimaging modalities and techniques: 1. To examine the learning mechanisms of functional reorganization, such as somatosensory, motor, visual networks in health (adaptive plasticity, the goal of which is to increase performance) and disease (maladaptive plasticity the goal of which is to induce recovery of the lesioned brain function by bypassing injured pathways and capitalizing on intact but functionally associated to those that have sustained injury). 2. To induce recovery of function via reorganization of pathways using MRI-brain-computer-interface methods, such as our individualized real-time fMRI neurofeedback (iRTfMRI nFb). 3. To combine complementary methods that offer increased temporal resolution, such as MR-compatible electroencephalogram (EEG). 4. To use advanced computational methods, such as machine learning (linear and non-linear support vector machines, multilayer perceptrons), deep learning (3d temporal convolutional networks) and dynamic causal modeling (Hidden Markov Models) to decipher the spatiotemporal relationship induced by iRTfMRI nFb and thus, characterize the type of associative learning in a healthy versus a brain characterized by lesioned tissue.

Assistant Professor

Electrical & Computer Engineering
Neuroengineering and Applied Physics
Rice University

https://neuroengineering.rice.edu/faculty

Assistant Professor

Applied Physics; Smalley-Curl Institute
Neuroengineering and biotechnology
Rice University

https://appliedphysics.rice.edu/neuroengineering-and-biotechnology

Addresses

Department of Neurology (Office)

Baylor College of Medicine Medical Center
McNair Campus
Houston, TX 77030
United States

Center for Advanced MR Imaging (Lab)

Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza, Suite T115H
Houston, TX 77030
United States

Education

PhD from University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas United States

MHSc from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health

Baltimore, Maryland United States

BA from University of Georgia

Athens, Georgia United States

Internship at University of Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland United States

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Internship at Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas United States

Neuropsychology of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas United States

Functional Imaging of Pain and Opioid Administration

Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas United States

Real-time Functional MRI Neurofeedback of Speech

Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas United States

Real-time Functional MRI Neurofeedback & Rehabilitation of Cortical Blindness

Professional Interests

• Human Brain Neuroimaging
• Real-time Functional MRI Neurofeedback
• Plasticity and Neuro-rehabilitation of Cortical Blindness
• Neuro-rehabilitation of Speech Impairment
• Neuro-rehabilitation of Chronic Pain

Professional Statement

The overall aims of the Papageorgiou Investigational Targeted Brain Neurotherapeutics (ITBN) Laboratory are to study the mechanisms of adaptive plasticity/reorganization of the cortical functions using various neuroimaging modalities and techniques: (i) to understand the mechanisms of induced plasticity of brain functions in health (adaptive plasticity); (ii) to induce neuro-rehabilitation when maladaptive plasticity occurs in: somatosensory disorders, cortical blindness, neuropathic pain, and affective disorders; (ii) to induce CNS and PNS recovery of function using advanced neuroimaging methods, such as real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI nFb); as well as (iii) to combine complementary methods that increase temporal resolution, such as MR-compatible electroencephalogram.

Dr. Papageorgiou has developed a targeted, individualized, fast and robust approach to neuromodulate activity in the brain with the goal to neuro-rehabilitate function and in turn to improve behavioral performance beyond standard behavioral approaches. This neuromodulatory approach, called real-time fMRI neurofeedback aims to bypass lesioned pathways by capitalizing on others that are intact and functionally associated with the lesioned area. This can be achieved because the human brain has functional redundancy.

The Papageorgiou/ITBN Lab focuses on the neuromodulation and in turn, restoration of the following cortical functions: (i) visual, following retrochiasmal (downstream of the optic radiation) lesions in visual pathways, which result in cortical blindness; (ii) speech planning and execution following CNS-supranuclear (to the brainstem) lesions in somatomotor, somatosensory areas versus PNS-infranuclear lower cranial nerve lesions; (iii) somatosensory and somatomotor functions as those relate to impaired chronic pain (pain matrix network), as a result of CNS- or, PNS-associated pain.

The current research goals and projects of the Papageorgiou/ITBN Lab are:
(i) To examine and understand the neural mechanisms of cortical reorganization in somatomotor, somatosensory, visual, and pain areas, with the goal to design treatments that will induce recovery of the impaired function.
(ii) To achieve long-term effects of individualized neurofeedback interventions at targeted cortical areas.
(iii) To compare functional changes (functional connectivity measures, rt-fMRI nFb training) with structural changes (diffusion tensor imaging, volumetric), as a function of learning (real-time fMRI neurofeedback longitudinal studies).
(iv) To optimize the rt-fMRI neurofeedback delivery using: (i) machine learning approaches, such as Bayesian-based, support vector machine algorithms; (ii) MRI-compatible EEG to improve temporal resolution.
(v) To develop a computational model through the acquisition of longitudinal data that will allow us to characterize what type of associative learning takes place in somatosensory, somatomotor, pain, and visual perception networks in healthy subjects as well as patients. The goal of this model is to understand the relationship between neuromodulation (magnitude and spatial extent) across brain areas and performance and to characterize the type of associative learning induced by various neurofeedback paradigms.
The Papageorgiou/ITBN Lab is founded and primarily supported by the McNair Medical Institute.
The Papageorgiou/ITBN Lab has available graduate student and postdoctoral positions.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Hotez PJ, Papageorgiou TD "A new European neglected diseases center for Greece?." PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013 Feb;7(2):e1757. Pubmed PMID: 23469292
• Papageorgiou TD, Curtis WA, McHenry M, LaConte SM "Neurofeedback of two motor functions using supervised learning-based real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging.." Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:5377-80. Pubmed PMID: 19964387
• Papanikolaou A, Keliris GA, Papageorgiou TD, Shao Y, Krapp E, Papageorgiou E, et al "Population receptive field analysis of the primary visual cortex complements perimetry in patients with homonymous visual field defects." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;(111):E1656-65. Pubmed PMID: 24706881
• Papageorgiou TD, Lisinski JM, McHenry MA, White JP, Laconte SM "Brain-computer interfaces increase whole-brain signal to noise." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Aug 13;110(33):13630-5. Pubmed PMID: 23901117