Brain Imaging

{Brain Imaging

(the ways we look inside your head)

Electric probes are placed over the skull They record brain waves as they pass

over the cerebral cortex Inexpensive Good to detect seizures Least detailed of the imaging techniques

EEG (electroencephologram)

A series of X-rays can be spliced together by computer to give a three dimensional look at the brain.

Best for looking at bones and hard structures.

CT Scan (computed tomography)

Inject radioactive dye into bloodstream Where there is more thought, there is

increased blood flow Shows where thought is occuring

PET Scan(Positron Emission Tomography

The patient is put in a magnetic chamber and a magnetic pulse is applied.

When then pulse is stopped, computers can take a three dimensional image of the soft tissues of the brain.

More expensive. More detailed

MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

Like an MRI, but this one shows the brain in action- can make a movie of where activity is happening.

Most expensive Most information

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

Newest brain imaging technology Digitally traces blood flow Gets VERY specific about which cells

networks are receiving increased blood flow

DTI (Digital Tensor Imaging)

The ability of the brain to shift the functions of one part of the brain to another if there is injury or sickness that makes part of the brain inoperable.

Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSu9

HGnlMV0&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Plasticity

Any drug that is similar enough to the neurotransmitter it is meant to replace that it can cause a neuron to fire.

Ex. Morphine is similar enough to our natural endorphins that it can create a feeling of well being and kill pain.

Agonist

Any drug that is similar enough to the naturally produced neurotransmitter that it can bind on to receptor sites, but is not similar enough to make the cell fire.

Ex. Botulin (a poison that is used in Botox) can bind on to receptors for Ach (a neurotransmitter that makes muscle movement possible) and temporarily paralyzed the muscles that pull our faces into wrinkles. Those muscles can’t move, so wrinkles seem to disappear.

Antagonist