Brain mapping

This article is about brain mapping. For broader coverage, see Outline of brain mapping.
Brain mapping
Diagnostics
MeSH D001931

Brain mapping is a set of neuroscience techniques predicated on the mapping of (biological) quantities or properties onto spatial representations of the (human or non-human) brain resulting in maps. Brain mapping is further defined as the study of the anatomy and function of the brain and spinal cord through the use of imaging (including intra-operative, microscopic, endoscopic and multi-modality imaging), immunohistochemistry, molecular & optogenetics, stem cell and cellular biology, engineering (material, electrical and biomedical), neurophysiology and nanotechnology.

Overview

All neuroimaging can be considered part of brain mapping. Brain mapping can be conceived as a higher form of neuroimaging, producing brain images supplemented by the result of additional (imaging or non-imaging) data processing or analysis, such as maps projecting (measures of) behavior onto brain regions (see fMRI). One such map, called a connectogram, depicts cortical regions around a circle, organized by lobes. Concentric circles within the ring represent various common neurological measurements, such as cortical thickness or curvature. In the center of the circles, lines representing white matter fibers illustrate the connections between cortical regions, weighted by fractional anisotropy and strength of connection.[1]

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 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.[2]

Of specific interest is using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion MRI (dMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET), Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and other non-invasive scanning techniques to map anatomy, physiology, perfusion, function and phenotypes of the human brain. Both healthy and diseased brains may be mapped to study memory, learning, aging, and drug effects in various populations such as people with schizophrenia, autism, and clinical depression. This led to the establishment of the Human Brain Project.[3] It may also be crucial to understanding traumatic brain injuries (as in the case of Phineas Gage)[4] and improving brain injury treatment.[5]

Following a series of meetings, the International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM) evolved.[6] The ultimate goal is to develop flexible computational brain atlases.

On May 5, 2010 the Supreme Court in India (Smt. Selvi vs. State of Karnataka) declared brain mapping, lie detector tests and narcoanalysis to be unconstitutional, violating Article 20 (3) of Fundamental Rights. These techniques cannot be conducted forcefully on any individual and requires consent for the same. When they are conducted with consent, the material so obtained is regarded as evidence during trial of cases according to Section 27 of the Evidence Act.[7]

Current Atlas tools

See also

References

  1. ↑ Irimia, Andrei; Chambers, Micah C.; Torgerson, Carinna M.; Horn, John D. (2012). "Circular representation of human cortical networks for subject and population-level connectomic visualization". NeuroImage 60 (2): 1340–51. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.107. PMC 3594415. PMID 22305988.
  2. ↑ Pechura, Constance M.; Martin, Joseph B. (1991). Mapping the Brain and Its Functions: Integrating Enabling Technologies Into Neuroscience Research. Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on a National Neural Circuitry Database.
  3. ↑ Koslow, Stephen H.; Huerta, Michael F. (1997). Neuroinformatics: An Overview of the Human Brain Project.
  4. ↑ Van Horn, John Darrell; Irimia, Andrei; Torgerson, Carinna M.; Chambers, Micah C.; Kikinis, Ron; Toga, Arthur W. (2012). Sporns, Olaf, ed. "Mapping Connectivity Damage in the Case of Phineas Gage". PLoS ONE 7 (5): e37454. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037454. PMC 3353935. PMID 22616011.
  5. ↑ Irimia, Andrei; Chambers, Micah C.; Torgerson, Carinna M.; Filippou, Maria; Hovda, David A.; Alger, Jeffry R.; Gerig, Guido; Toga, Arthur W.; Vespa, Paul M.; Kikinis, Ron; Van Horn, John D. (2012). "Patient-Tailored Connectomics Visualization for the Assessment of White Matter Atrophy in Traumatic Brain Injury". Frontiers in Neurology 3. doi:10.3389/fneur.2012.00010. PMC 3275792. PMID 22363313.
  6. ↑ Toga, Arthur W.; Mazziotta, John C., eds. (2002). Brain Mapping: The Methods. ISBN 978-0-12-693019-1.
  7. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3171915/
  8. ↑ Harvard Whole Brain Atlas
  9. ↑ Serag, Ahmed; Aljabar, Paul; Ball, Gareth; Counsell, Serena J.; Boardman, James P.; Rutherford, Mary A.; Edwards, A. David; Hajnal, Joseph V.; Rueckert, Daniel (2012). "Construction of a consistent high-definition spatio-temporal atlas of the developing brain using adaptive kernel regression". NeuroImage 59 (3): 2255–65. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.09.062. PMID 21985910.

Further reading

External links