Researching The Brain

Computer programs that convert the data taken from brain-scanning devices into visual images of the brain

Measures electrical activity towards the surface of the brain (near the skull) by placing electrodes on the scalp, capitalising on the fact that every time a nerve cell fires it produces electrical activity

Rotates an X-ray tube around a person’s head, producing a series of X-ray pictures. A computer then compiles these pictures into a composite visual image

A neuroimaging technique that produces images of the brain without using x-rays

A neuroimaging method that requires injection of a small quantity of radioactive glucose (too small a ride to be dangerous) into the bloodstream. A computer produces a colour portrait of the brain, showing which parts are active

Uses MRI to watch the brain as an individual carries out tasks such as solving mathematical problems or looking at emotionally evocative pictures