Top 5 technologies for the study of the brain

What are the most widely used techniques to study and understand the human brain?

The human brain is a mystery, but it is, also, one of the mysteries that has 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. Moreover, this set of organs is so complex that until recently those who wanted to study it could only do so passively and indirectly, i.e. by examining the brains of deceased people and trying to relate the symptoms expressed by that person to the anatomy of his or her nervous organs.

What technologies are used to study the brain and nervous system?

This had clear disadvantages: neither could this type of information be contrasted with what was being observed in the person's behavior in real time (which meant, among other things, that no useful data could be obtained for the treatment of patients), nor could the brain activity, only present in living people, be studied directly. The latter is very relevant, taking into account that the brain is being shaped in part by the activity in it: the characteristics of the dynamics of the nervous functioning of each person modify the anatomy of the encephalon..

Fortunately, nowadays There are now technologies that make it possible to study not only the anatomy of the brain of living, conscious people, but also its functioning and activity in the brain.but also its functioning and activity in real time. These new techniques are encelography (EGG), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (or PET), angiogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Below we will look at the characteristics of each of these systems.

1. Electroencephalography, or EEG

This was one of the first methods developed to "read" brain activity, i.e., the electrical firing patterns that run through the brain. The technique is relatively simple, and consists of leaving electrodes attached to the person's scalp so that they pick up the electrical impulses that they pick up just below and send this information to a machine. The machine collects this data and expresses it in the form of lines and peaks of activity by means of a graphic plotter, in the same way that seismographs work to measure the intensity of earthquakes. This recording of activity is called an encephalogram..

EEG is very simple and versatile, so it can be used either to measure the activity of a few neurons or of larger areas of the cerebral cortex. It is widely used to study cases of epilepsy, as well as brain waves during sleep, but since it is not very precise, it does not allow us to know exactly where in the brain these activation patterns begin. In addition, knowing how to interpret encephalography is complicated and requires a good education and training to be able to do so.

2. Computerized axial tomography or CAT scan

The computerized 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 moment.

3. Positron Emission Tomography, or PET scanning

This type of tomography does serve to study brain activity in specific areas of the brain, albeit indirectly. To apply this technique, a slightly radioactive substance is first injected into the person's blood, which will leave a trace of radiation wherever it passes. Then, sensors will detect in real time which areas of the brain are those that receive the most radiation, which may indicate that these areas are absorbing more Blood because they are becoming more active.

From this information a screen is recreated with the image of a brain with the most activated areas indicated..

4. Angiogram

The angiogram is somewhat similar to the PET scan, although in this case a kind of dye is injected into the blood. In addition, the ink does not remain accumulated for a while in the most active areas of the brain, unlike what happens with radiation, and remains circulating in the blood vessels until it disappears, so it does not allow to obtain an image of the brain activity but of its structure and anatomy.

It is used especially to detect areas of the brain that are diseased..

5. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI and fMRI)

Both the magnetic resonance imaging and its "extended" version, functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, are two of the most popular brain study techniques in research related to psychology and neuroscience.

Their operation is based on the use of radio waves in a magnetic field into which the head of the person in question is inserted..

The limitations of these techniques

The use of these technologies is not without drawbacks.. The most obvious one is its cost: the machines required for its use are very expensive, and to this must be added the opportunity cost of having reserved space in a clinic and having at least one highly qualified person to manage the process.

In addition, 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 one part of the cerebral cortex "lights up" does not necessarily mean that the part in charge of X function has been activated.