USC Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center (DNI)
The USC Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center (DNI) is a research-dedicated facility on
the University Park Campus (UPC), purposefully built to support the needs of USC scientists seeking to
understand the relation between neural and mental phenomena in humans.
The DNI occupies a two-story building with 4,000 square-feet of space. It hosts a 3 Tesla Siemens
MAGNETON Prismafit MRI scanner, along with a broad range of ancillary equipment and workspace for
participant in-take, data processing and meetings.
MRI scanner
The Siemens MAGETON Prismafit MRI scanner at the DNI features the most powerful gradient system
currently available in any commercial 3T MRI scanner. It allows for simultaneous 80mT/m @ 200T/m/s along
each of the three gradient directions. This gradient system makes the Prisma an ideal MRI scanner for
research aimed to resolve the fine details of anatomical and functional connectivity in the human brain.
The scanner has a 60 cm bore diameter and exceptional magnetic homogeneity (measured homogeneity
within the 40 cm diameter spherical volume is 0.103 ppm). The Prisma scanner at DNI is configured with 64
parallel RF receiver channels and supports up to 204 coil elements. The Prisma scanner has a highperformance, high-SNR, digital-in-digital-out solid-state RF system, which is capable of duel-channel parallel
transmit and slice-accelerated (“multi-band”) acquisition.
Several head coils neural applications are available at DNI:
 32-channel array coil
 20-channel head-neck matrix coil
 Single-channel CP (circular polarization) transmit/receive coil (for spectroscopy)
A spine coil and a set of flexible body coils are also available.
Ancillary Equipment
The MR suite at the DNI is equipped with a set of MRI compatible instruments and devices for conducting
functional neuroimaging experiments. These include:
 Christie DLV 1280-DX, 3-chip DLP projector with a native gamma of 1.0
 ASL long-range remote eye tracker with user-selectable sample rates of 60 (default), 120, and 240 Hz
 Various fiber-optic behavioral response devices
 MRI and eye-tracking compatible prescription eyeglasses
 High-fidelity audio system driving the Sensimetrics S14 earbuds, achieving a flat frequency response
function between 200-8000 Hz
 Biopac multi-channel physiological data acquisition system
 Neuroscan 64-channel MRI compatible EEG / ERP system, phase-locked to the 10 MHz master clock
of the MRI scanner
EEG Facility
A dedicated EEG suite equipped with a sound booth can be used to perform off-line EEG / ERP recordings.
The EEG suite is equipped with a Neuroscan 64-channel EEG system, an LCD monitor for presenting visual
stimuli, an audio system, and a behavioral response box that also serves as a time base for all the ancillary
instruments in the EEG suite.
Mock MRI Scanner
A testing room equipped with a mock MRI scanner can be used to familiarize research participants with the
MRI scanning environment or to collect baseline performance and physiological data with a participant lying
supine. The mock scanner has the same bore size and length as the Prisma scanner and is equipped with an
audiovisual stimulus presentation system and a surround sound system that mimics the scanner noise
environment.
Staff
DNI is directed by Professor Hanna Damasio, with Professor Bosco Tjan as its co-director. Full-time technical
staff includes Dr. Jiancheng Zhuang, the MR Physicist, and a MR research assistant. DNI researchers can
consult Dr. Zhuang on protocol optimization and seek operational assistant from the MRRA at no cost.
A Receptionist is on the premises from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, from Monday to Friday.
Operation Hours and Usage Fee
The regular operation hours of DNI are Mondays-Fridays 9 AM to 5 PM. Researchers who have attained offhour certification can schedule and use the scanner outside of the regular hours. The usage fee is currently
$500 per hour.