Brain Imaging

In this section

Here we are providing a selection of key readings on some new and relevant applications of Brain Imaging and a list of the main European research centres in this field. More important, following the first bid workshop "Brains in Dialogue on Brain imaging" we are updating an open-to-discussion section on brain imaging.

Brain Imaging in brief

Brain Imaging technologies are crucial for understanding the relationships between specific areas of the brain and their function, helping to locate the areas of the brain that are affected by neurological or psychiatric disorders and build new strategies to treat them.

Brain Imaging includes different methods which fall into two broad categories: structural and functional imaging. Structural imaging investigates the structure of the brain and can be used for the diagnosis of large scale intracranial disease, such as tumor, and injury. Functional imaging reveals the activity in certain brain regions by detecting changes in metabolism, blood flow, regional chemical composition, and absorption. It can be used to diagnose metabolic diseases and lesions on a finer scale, for neurological and cognitive psychology research and brain-computer interfaces.

Examples of Brain Imaging techniques are: Computed Tomography(CT); Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI); Positron Emission Tomography (PET); Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT); Magnetoencephalography (MEG). These techniques not only open a new perspective on basic brain functions, but offer also new opportunities for early diagnosis of several brain diseases.

If you want to read more on the different technologies, please visit our Links page or look for a research centre.