How do brain scans work? - John Borghi and Elizabeth Waters
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As far as we know, there’s only one thing in our solar system sophisticated enough to study itself: the human brain. But this self-investigation is incredibly challenging; a living brain is shielded by a thick skull, swaddled in layers of protective tissue, and made up of billions of tiny, connected cells. That’s why it’s so difficult to isolate, observe, and understand diseases like Alzheimer’s. So how do we study living brains without harming their owners? We can use a trio of techniques called EEG, fMRI, and PET. Each measures something different and has its own strengths and weaknesses, and we’ll look at each in turn. First is EEG, or electroencephalography, which measures electrical activity in your brain. As brain cells communicate, they produce waves of electricity. Electrodes placed on the skull pick up these waves, and differences i...
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As far as we know, there’s only one thing in our solar system sophisticated enough to study itself: the human brain. But this self-investigation is incredibly challenging; a living brain is shielded by a thick skull, swaddled in layers of protective tissue, and made up of billions of tiny, connected cells. That’s why it’s so difficult to isolate, observe, and understand diseases like Alzheimer’s. So how do we study living brains without harming their owners? We can use a trio of techniques called EEG, fMRI, and PET. Each measures something different and has its own strengths and weaknesses, and we’ll look at each in turn. First is EEG, or electroencephalography, which measures electrical activity in your brain. As brain cells communicate, they produce waves of electricity. Electrodes placed on the skull pick up these waves, and differences i...
