Question

Give an example of when you would use structural imaging versus functional imaging. Also, give an example of when you would be interested in directly manipulating brain activity. (Think about the different neuroimaging methods).

Answer 1

Neuroimaging is relatively a new science in the field of medicine and neuroscience. Neuroimaging is also known as brain imaging. It uses various techniques to get an image of the nervous system. The two types of neuroimaging are structural and functional imaging. Structural imaging is used to get an image of the anatomy of the brain. This used for the diagnosis of brain diseases or to find a brain injury. CT (Computerised Axial Topography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)are some examples of structural imaging. Functional imaging provides brain images of patients involved in certain activity like solving maths puzzles, responding to certain stimuli etc. Examples are PET (Positron Emission Topography) and fMRI Functional Magnetic Resonance Image. Following a car accident Structural imaging is used to detect if there is any brain injury. Functional imaging may be used to study the activity in the brain of a schizophrenic patient. One example for directly manipulating brain activity is using neuroimaging in the field of forensic psychology. It plays a crucial role in identifying the activity in the brain followed by the exposure of some objects related to a case.