The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute at West Virginia University has announced a $1 million gift from the Toyota Corporation to establish the Toyota Chair in Advanced Brain Imaging.

Brain imaging, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is a technique for monitoring brain activity. Advances in MRI will enable scientists to produce high quality, digital images of brain structures and to observe neurochemical changes that occur in the brain as it processes information or responds to various stimuli. University officials predict the new chair will help attract funding and leading researchers for a related research program in brain imaging.

"Toyota's gift to the Rockefeller Institute will be a tremendous boost for West Virginia University and for all of West Virginia," said university president David C. Hardesty. "Along with the significant investment already made by WVU in brain imaging technologies, the Toyota Chair will allow us to attract world-class researchers to our campus...."

The Rockefeller Institute, headquartered on the campus of West Virginia University, is a nonprofit international medical research center focused on human memory and the development of new drugs and diagnostics to treat and diagnose neurological and cognitive disorders.