What is Neuroimaging?
Neuroimaging (neuroimaging) is often associated with functional brain imaging. Research in this area places greater emphasis on the study of brain working mechanisms.
- Chinese name
- Neuroimaging
- Foreign name
- neural imaging or neuroimaging
- Neuroimaging (neuroimaging) is often associated with functional brain imaging. Research in this area places greater emphasis on the study of brain working mechanisms.
- Brain neural activity is manifested as a distinct three-dimensional dynamic characteristic. Therefore, it is not enough to interpret the working mechanism of the brain by only recording one-dimensional signals that change with time. It is an important method in brain science to reveal the anatomical structure and function of the brain through imaging methods in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space.
Neuroimaging Research
- There are many imaging methods that can reflect brain function. Common methods can be divided into two categories, invasive and noninvasive. Non-invasive methods include electroencephalography (EGG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) based on electromagnetic signal detection; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) based on blood oxygen level-dependent measurement; metabolic level based Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology for measurement. In addition, invasive methods can also be used to obtain brain neural information, including the measurement of neuron discharge signals (Spikes) and the measurement of cortical potentials (ECoG). The results of the above measurement methods can be displayed as images in two or three dimensions.
- Different neuroimaging methods have different spatial and temporal resolutions. Figure 1 shows the spatial and temporal resolutions of different imaging methods. Due to equipment or operational limitations, the commonly used methods are electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- Figure 1 Neuroimaging method
- Application prospects
- "Understanding the brain", "protecting the brain" and "creating the brain" are the goals and objectives of many countries in formulating brain science development plans. Among them, "understanding the brain" is not only to understand the anatomy of the brain, but also to understand the working mechanism of the brain, especially the mechanism by which the brain produces advanced cognitive activities (learning, thinking, language, memory, emotion, etc.). Neuroimaging provides a powerful technical means to "understand the brain."
- Judging from the development of brain function research, people's research at the initial stage focused on the study of relatively isolated functional brain regions. According to the activated states of different brain regions in the senses (visual, auditory, tactile), perception and cognition, researchers have divided the brain into different functional regions and thought that different brain regions correspond to different brain functions. However, a large number of research results in recent years have confirmed that the so-called independent brain functional areas are not functionally independent, and there is a large number of functional and performance connections between functional areas and even to a more subtle degree. Nowadays, the research of brain functional imaging has shifted more from functional segregation to functional integration.
- The study of functional connections in brain activity requires both high-resolution spatial positioning and the time course that reflects this connection. It is often difficult to achieve the purpose by only one mode of imaging. For this reason, the fusion of multimodal brain imaging methods has become a possible solution. In recent years, making full use of the high spatial resolution of magnetic resonance imaging and the high temporal resolution of EEG signals, and integrating the two aspects of information together has become an important area of concern.