Progress In Brain Mapping Research

This outstanding book includes research derived from non-invasive brain imaging modalities used to explore the spatial and temporal organisation of the neural systems supporting human behaviour. Imaging modalities of interest include positron emission tomography, event-related potentials, electro - and magnetoencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, and single-photon emission tomography. Coverage includes novel brain imaging methods, analyses for detecting or localising neural activity, synergistic uses of multiple imaging modalities, and strategies for the design of behavioural paradigms and neural-systems modelling.

Significant advances in brain research have been made, but investigators who face the resulting explosion of data need new methods to integrate the pieces of the "brain puzzle." Based on the expertise of more than 100 neuroscientists and computer specialists, this new volume examines how computer technology can meet that need. Featuring outstanding color photography, the book presents an overview of the complexity of brain research, which covers the spectrum from human behavior to genetic mechanisms. Advances in vision, substance abuse, pain, and schizophrenia are highlighted. The committee explores the potential benefits of computer graphics, database systems, and communications networks in neuroscience and reviews the available technology. Recommendations center on a proposed Brain Mapping Initiative, with an agenda for implementation and a look at issues such as privacy and accessibility.

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. All neuroimaging can be considered to be a part of brain mapping. Brain mapping techniques are constantly evolving, and rely on the development and refinement of image acquisition, representation, analysis, visualisation and interpretation techniques. Functional and structural neuroimaging are at the core of the mapping aspect of brain mapping. This book presents the latest research in the field. An algorithm dedicated at discriminating between electrodes that lead to a seizure onset as opposed to those electrodes that do not, are examined in this book by using interictal subdural EEG data. The most effective method for localising the effects of neural activation throughout the human brain is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). This book provides a new level of specificity in the basis of advanced approaches of using fMRI to study brain function as deep as at the level of the neural processing. Programmed cell death or apoptosis is a relevant process in the physiology and pathology of the nervous system. DNA damage response in postmitotic neurons is discussed and the elucidation of these mechanisms, which promise to provide multiple points of therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases, are examined as well. This book explains the temporal features of brain injury in three different developmental models of oxygen deprivation, capable of inducing apoptotic cell death. The hallmarks of hypoxia-induced apoptosis that may vary according to brain maturity, are also looked at. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of transplants of Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) after experimental traumatic brain injury were investigated and are discussed in this book.

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. 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) behaviour onto brain regions (see fMRI). Brain mapping techniques are constantly evolving, and rely on the development and refinement of image acquisition, representation, analysis, visualisation and interpretation techniques. Functional and structural neuroimaging are at the core of the mapping aspect of brain mapping. This book presents the latest research in the field.

Research on brain oscillations and event-related electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related (de-) synchronization (ERD/ERS) in particular became a rapidly growing field in the last decades. A large number of laboratories worldwide are using ERD/ERS to study cognitive and motor brain function and the importance of this tool in neurocognitive research is widely recognized. This book is a summary of the most current research, methods, and applications of the study of event-related dynamics of brain oscillations. Facing the rapid progress in this field, it brings together, on the one side, fundamental questions of the underlying events, which still remain to be clarified and, on the other side, some of the most significant novel findings, which point to the key topics for future research. In particular, the chapters of this volume cover the neurophysiological fundamentals and models (Section I), new methodological approaches (Section II), current ERD research related to cognitive (Section III) and sensorimotor brain function (Section IV), invasive approaches and clinical applications (Section V), and novel developments of EEG-based brain-computer interfaces and neurofeedback (Section IV).

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."