Brain Imaging

INTRODUCTION

Are you curious?

1. What do you see below?

2. What about here?

3. Want to see some more perplexing images? Click here.

So are you curious? Do you want to know what is going on here?

What else about your behavior and your brain makes you curious?

Try some of the examples below and see what you think.

4. What's the age of your brain?

5. What sex is your brain, part I?

6. What sex is your brain, part II?

There are so many things to wonder about human behavior.

For thousands of years, people have theorized/told stories about the roots of human behavior: about free will, consciousness, love, fear, meaning, etc. These conversations have engaged biologists, doctors, philosophers, psychologists, educators, religious figures. Stories were written and unwritten; proved and disproved. Everyone wanted a theory, a story to account for human behavior. Everyone had stories about how the mind worked, observations to support their stories, ways they gathered data. But until recently, the only brains that were (ethically) accessible for research were either dead human ones or animal ones, making gathering reliable data extremely difficult. Now all that has changed as advances in technology have given us incredible new tools with which to look into the functionning of a live, working brain. With these new tools, we have the ability to look for answers to questions in ways much more powerful than we have ever had. These new tools of neuroscience have opened up a new frontier, a new cosmos for exploration- the one within our own heads. It is as exciting as when the first telescope was invented that allowed us to see into the universe beyond. As with any new tools/toys, they are only as good as the care with which we use them. This unit provides an introduction to Brain Imaging.

Interest in the human brain is not new. We have information dating back to at least 4000 BC of interest in the brain. Though theories of human behavior have changed radically over those years, methods of studying the brain have, until recently, changed less than we might imagine. First, let's think about the different options for studying and learning about human behavior that 'explorers' have used before us. As we do, let's also think about the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.

WAYS TO STUDY HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Let's look at a timeline showing developments in the exploration of the human brain, starting in 4000 B.C. with early Sumerian records. As you will see, there have been many different theories about the brain, about human behavior over that time, some remarkable and some ridiculous, but all using whatever tools and technology was available at the time.

QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE BRAIN

Our brains is an incredibly complex and extraordinarily interesting organ. Take a quick 3-D tour of the brain, for an overview of its different parts, their functions and their interconnections.

BRAIN IMAGING TECHNIQUES

There are 5 major techniques that we now have that enable us to "see" into the brain. Each one offers a window into a part of the puzzle of how the brain works. As you read about each of these, think about their advantages and their limitations. It is very imporant with any technology to know what it CANNOT do, as much as what it can.

EEG IN DEPTH

The EEG, electroencephalagram, was initially used as a diagnostic tool for epilepsy and other neurological disorders, but can also be a terrific research to tool to provide information on brain waves. It is a non-invasive, painless procedure that can be done within a couple of hours in a laboratory or clinic. Here's a description of how it is administrated.

Example of an EEG lab set-up:

Data from an EEG:

fMRI IN DEPTH