Brain mapping
Encyclopedia
Brain mapping is a set of neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...

 techniques predicated on the mapping of (biological) quantities or properties onto spatial representations of the (human or non-human) brain resulting in map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

s.

Overview

All neuroimaging
Neuroimaging
Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain...

 can be considered part of brain mapping. Brain mapping can be conceived as a higher form of neuroimaging
Neuroimaging
Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain...

, producing brain images supplemented by the result of additional (imaging or non-imaging) data processing or analysis, such as maps projecting (measures of) behaviour onto brain regions (see fMRI).

Brain Mapping techniques are constantly evolving, and rely on the development and refinement of image acquisition, representation, analysis, visualization and interpretation techniques. Functional and structural neuroimaging
Neuroimaging
Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain...

 are at the core of the mapping aspect of Brain Mapping.

History

In the late 1980s in the United States, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science was commissioned to establish a panel to investigate the value of integrating neuroscientific information across a variety of techniques.

Of specific interest is using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG
EEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...

), positron emission tomography
Positron emission tomography
Positron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...

 (PET) and other non-invasive scanning techniques to map anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

, perfusion
Perfusion
In physiology, perfusion is the process of nutritive delivery of arterial blood to a capillary bed in the biological tissue. The word is derived from the French verb "perfuser" meaning to "pour over or through."...

, function and phenotype
Phenotype
A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...

s of the human brain. Both healthy and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

d brains may be mapped to study memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....

, learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...

, aging, and drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 effects in various populations such as people with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

, autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

, and clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...

. This led to the establishment of the Human Brain Project
Neuroinformatics
Neuroinformatics is a research field concerned with the organization of neuroscience data by the application of computational models and analytical tools. These areas of research are important for the integration and analysis of increasingly large-volume, high-dimensional, and fine-grain...

.

Following a series of meetings, the International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM) evolved. The ultimate goal is to develop flexible computational brain atlases.

On 5.5.2010 the Supreme Court in India in its historical judgement on several PIL's (Smt. Selvi vs. State of Karnataka) has declared brain mapping,lie detector test and narcoanalysis as unconstitutional as it violates Article 20 (3)of Fundamental Rights.It cannot be conducted forcefully on any individual and requires one's consent for the same.when it is conducted with one's consent the material so obtained will be regarded as evidence during trial of cases according to Section 27 of Evidence Act.

Current atlas tools

  • Talairach Atlas, 1988
  • Harvard Whole Brain Atlas, 1995
  • MNI Template, 1998 (The standard template of SPM and International Consortium for Brain Mapping)

See also

  • BrainMaps Project
    BrainMaps
    BrainMaps is an NIH-funded interactive zoomable high-resolution digital brain atlas and virtual microscope that is based on more than 20 million megapixels of scanned images of serial sections of both primate and non-primate brains and that is integrated with a high-speed database for querying...

  • Center for Computational Biology
    Center for Computational Biology
    The Center for Computational Biology is an NIH-funded center part of the National Centers for Biomedical Computing . The CCB was established to develop, implement and test computational biology methods for modeling, representation, analysis and visualization of biological shape that are applicable...

  • FreeSurfer
    FreeSurfer
    FreeSurfer is an MRI brain imaging software package developed by the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. It is an important tool in functional brain mapping and facilitates the visualization of the functional regions of the highly-folded cerebral...

  • Map projection
    Map projection
    A map projection is any method of representing the surface of a sphere or other three-dimensional body on a plane. Map projections are necessary for creating maps. All map projections distort the surface in some fashion...

  • Neuroimaging software
  • List of neuroscience databases
  • Whole brain emulation

Further reading

  • Rita Carter (1998). Mapping the Mind.
  • F.J. Chen (2006). Brain Mapping And Language
  • F.J. Chen (2006). Focus on Brain Mapping Research.
  • F.J. Chen (2006). Trends in Brain Mapping Research.
  • F.J. Chen (2006). Progress in Brain Mapping Research.
  • Koichi Hirata (2002). Recent Advances in Human Brain Mapping: Proceedings of the 12th World Congress of the International Society for Brain Electromagnetic Topography (ISBET 2001).
  • Konrad Maurer and Thomas Dierks (1991). Atlas of Brain Mapping: Topographic Mapping of Eeg and Evoked Potentials.
  • Konrad Maurer (1989). Topographic Brain Mapping of Eeg and Evoked Potentials.
  • Arthur W. Toga and John C. Mazziotta (2002). Brain Mapping: The Methods.
  • Tatsuhiko Yuasa, James Prichard and S. Ogawa (1998). Current Progress in Functional Brain Mapping: Science and Applications.

External links

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