The 5 main technologies for studying the brain

The human brain It 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 in him that thoughts, feelings, subjective sensations and self-awareness arise. In addition, this set of organs is so complex that until recently whoever wanted to study it could only do so passively and indirectly, it is that is, examining the brains of deceased people and trying to relate the symptoms expressed by this person with the anatomy of their organs nervous

With what technologies are the brain and nervous system studied?

This had clear drawbacks: 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 could not obtain useful data for the treatment of patients), nor could brain activity be directly studied, only present in people alive. The latter is very relevant, taking into account that the brain is being formed in part by the activity that exists in it:

the characteristics of the dynamics of nervous functioning of each one are modifying the anatomy of the brain.

Fortunately. nowadays There are technologies that allow studying not only the brain anatomy of living and conscious people, but also its operation and activity in real time. These new techniques are encephalography (EGG), computerized axial tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (or PET), angiogram, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fRMI). Next we will see the characteristics of each of these systems.

1. Electroencephalography, or EEG

This was one of the first methods developed to "read" the brain's activity, that is, the electrical firing patterns that run through it. The technique is relatively simple, and consists of leaving electrodes attached to the scalp of the person so that they capture the electrical impulses that 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 activity peaks by means of a graphic tracer, in the same way that seismographs work that measure the intensity of the earthquakes. This activity log is called an encephalogram..

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

2. Computerized axial tomography, or CT

The computerized axial tomography (CT)Unlike encephalography, it gives us an image of the brain and his anatomy seen from various angles, but not from his activity. That is why it is basically used to study the shapes and proportions of the different parts of the brain at any given time.

3. Positron emission tomography, or PET scan

This type of tomography It 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, some sensors will detect in real time, which areas of the brain are those that monopolize a greater radiation, which may indicate that these areas are absorbing more blood because, precisely, they are keeping 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 it looks a bit like PET, although in this case a kind of ink is injected into the blood. In addition, the ink does not accumulate for a while in the most activated areas of the brain, contrary to what happens with radiation, and it remains circulating through the blood vessels until it disappears, so it does not allow an image of brain activity to be obtained 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 like its "extended" version, functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, are two of the most popular brain study techniques in research related to psychology and neurosciences.

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

The limitations of these techniques

The use of these technologies is not without drawbacks. The most obvious is its cost: the machines required for its use are very expensive, and to that we must add the cost of opportunity to have a space reserved in a clinic and have at least one highly qualified person who will direct 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 a part of the cerebral cortex "lights up" does not have to mean that the part in charge of X function has been activated.