The 5 Main Technologies For The Study Of The Brain
The human brain is a mystery, but it is also one of the mysteries that have generated the most interest throughout history
After all, it has been known for millennia that it is where thoughts, feelings, subjective sensations and self-awareness arise. Furthermore, this set of organs is so complex that until recently anyone who wanted to study it could only do so passively and indirectly, that is, examine the brains of already deceased people and try to relate the symptoms that this person expressed with the anatomy of their nervous organs.
What technologies are used to study the brain and nervous system?
This had clear drawbacks: this type of information could not be contrasted with what was being observed in the person’s behavior in real time (which meant, among other things, that useful data for the treatment of patients could not be obtained), nor could brain activity be directly studied, only present in living people. The latter is very relevant, taking into account that the brain is formed in part by the activity in it: The characteristics of the dynamics of nervous functioning of each one modify the anatomy of the brain
Fortunately. nowadays There are technologies that allow us to study not only the anatomy of the brain of living and conscious people, but also its operation and activity in real time. These new techniques are encelography (EGG), computerized axial tomography (CAT), positron emission tomography (or PET), angiogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Below we will see the characteristics of each of these systems.
This has been one of the first methods developed to “read” the activity of the brain, that is, the electrical firing patterns that run through it. The technique is relatively simple, and consists of leaving electrodes fixed on the person’s scalp so that they capture the electrical impulses they capture just below to send this information to a machine. The machine collects this data and expresses it in the form of lines and peaks of activity using a graphic plotter, in the same way that seismographs that measure the intensity of earthquakes work. This activity record is called an encephalogram
EEG is very simple and versatile, so it can be used to measure the activity of a few neurons or larger areas of the cerebral cortex. It is widely used to study cases of epilepsy, as well as sleep brain waves, but since it is not very precise, it does not allow us to know exactly where in the brain these activation patterns begin. Furthermore, knowing how to interpret encephalograms is complicated and good training is needed to be able to do so.
2. Computerized axial tomography, or CT
The computed axial tomography (CAT), unlike encephalography, gives us an image of the brain and its anatomy seen from various angles, but not of its activity. That is why it is basically used to study the shapes and proportions of the different parts of the brain at a given time.
3. Positron emission tomography, or PET
This type of tomography It does serve to study brain activity in specific areas of the brain, although indirectly. To apply this technique, a slightly radioactive substance is first injected into the person’s blood, which will leave a trail of radiation wherever it passes. Then, sensors will detect in real time which areas of the brain are those that absorb the most radiation, which may indicate that these areas are absorbing more blood because, precisely, they are remaining more active.
From this information A screen recreates the image of a brain with the most activated areas indicated
4. Angiogram
He angiogram It is a bit like PET, although in this case a type of ink is injected into the blood. Furthermore, the ink does not accumulate for a while in the most activated areas of the brain, unlike what happens with radiation, and it continues to circulate through the blood vessels until it disappears, which is why it does not allow obtaining an image of the brain activity and yes its structure and anatomy.
It is especially used to detect areas of the brain that are diseased
5. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and fMRI)
Both the magnetic resonance imaging and its “expanded” version, functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, are two of the most popular brain study techniques in research related to psychology and neuroscience.
Its operation is based on the use of radio waves in a magnetic field into which the head of the person in question is placed
The limitations of these techniques
The use of these technologies is not free of drawbacks The most obvious is its cost: the machines required for its use are very expensive, and to this we must add the opportunity cost of having reserved space in a clinic and having at least one highly qualified person who will direct the process.
Furthermore, the information related to the parts of the brain that are activated does not always provide much information, since each brain is unique. This means that the fact that a part of the cerebral cortex “lights up” does not have to mean that the part in charge of X function has been activated.
