Seeing Brain Function with MRI and PET Scans

Seeing Brain Function with MRI and PET Scans

Introduction to the Brain

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A Window into Brain Activity

The study of brain functions has been greatly augmented in recent years by the development of high-tech imaging techniques that allow scientists to observe the living brain in action. Blood flow imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and electroencephalography all give scientists pictures of the activity taking place in a specific place of the brain while performing a specific activity. By understanding the electrical activity of the neurons making up a specific section of the brain, it is possible to develop a basic understanding of that section's role in a given activity or in response to a given stimulus. The study of computational networks developed on supercomputers has also strengthened our theories about how the human brain forges and adapts its own neural networks.

These imaging and network technologies, along with a host of carefully controlled experiments and correlative studies, have informed us in large part of how learning and problem solving techniques are played out in the brain. We can describe with a good deal of confidence how the brain organizes its basic thinking tasks, such as planning and perception, and how the conscious brain applies both learned and intrinsic patterns of thinking to specific situations. And then, of course, all this is made possible by a well functioning human memory.

How Does The Brain Work?

Start With 100 Billion Brain Cells Called Neurons.

The brain is, by far, the most complex and mysterious organ in the human body. Composed of over 100 billion cells called neurons, this amazing structure is the center from which all of our skills of higher reasoning originate -- creativity, learning, imagination, planning, and, perhaps most notable of all, our sense of identity.
Click here to learn more about how the brain works.

Parts Of The Brain:

From Brain Stem To Cerebellum and From Cortex To Frontal Lobe.

On a larger scale, the brain is made up of four distinct lobes on both the left and right hemispheres. The frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes each have primary processing functions, such as cognition, hearing, sensory input, and vision respectively, but they also serve act to regulate one another. Click here to learn more about the Parts of the Brain.

How Memories Are Made In The Brain

The Hippocampus Is The Memory Control Center.

One area of particular interest, and of which our understanding is quickly growing, is that of human memory. Our memories are astounding in their capacity...
Click here to learn more about how memories are made in the Brain.

What Is Consciousness?

You Are What You Remember.

Consciousness itself is clearly quite a controversial and subjective topic. It is thought to involve both the modern neocortex found in all higher mammals (cats, dolphins, elephants, etc) as well as certain profoundly developed sections of the brain stem only found in humans.
Click here to learn more about Consciousness.

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