New 'reading brain' method

We all know the brain receives information before information becomes a person's perception. But so far, there is no way to determine how specific processes have taken place before reaching awareness.

This changed when scientists from Rutgers University in Newark and the University of California in Los Angeles recently developed a method of tracking the correct brain, thereby discovering the mental state of a people as well as information are processed before it becomes aware. With this new success, scientists are now equipped with an effective means to develop an accurate diagram of the inner workings of the brain.

According to information in Psychological Science in July 2009, this is the work of Stephen José Hanson, a psychology lecturer at Rutgers University with Russell A. Poldrack, University of California lecturer in Los Angeles and Yaroslav Halchenko, post-doctoral fellows at Dartmouth University. The results from this work provide direct evidence that a person's mental state can be accurately predicted through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study also points out that a more extensive approach is needed to map brain activity and deny the prevailing notion that every specific area in the brain is responsible for specific tasks.

In the past few years, most image diagnoses have focused on locating specific areas of the brain taking on certain functions, such as learning, memory, fear or affection. hate. But this study shows that the brain is much more complex than just such a simple model. In the global analysis of brain activity, the researchers found that each process has a neural connection pattern that spans the entire brain, just like each of us has a system of signs Different fingerprints.However, it is not a static model, the brain has the ability to organize and rearrange these connections based on each task it is undertaking.

'You cannot simply point to an area in the brain and say that the area is in charge of self-awareness, appreciation or that is the source of a person's moral character,' Hanson said. 'In fact, the brain is much more complex and flexible. It has the ability to rearrange neural connections to suit each function. By examining this neural connection model, you will correctly guess what the brain is doing. '

This finding opens up the ability to categorize different mental activities according to each individual neural connection model and promises the first step in developing a tool to identify mental activities at a higher level. , such as 'lie' or abstract reasoning. These findings also have the potential to pave the way for early diagnosis and effective treatment of mental disorders, such as autism or schizophrenia, by providing a means of identifying abnormalities even if Very small in brain activity and ability to handle simultaneously.

The results of the study provide a more accurate approach to the effective mapping of brain connections. With the project called the Connectome Project, the researchers' goal is to build a complete diagram of the central nervous system.

Scientists have figured out exactly how to survey the brain to discover the state of one's mind as well as the type of information processed before it turns into awareness. (Photo: iStockphoto)

"Our research shows that if you want to understand human cognitive activity, you have to look at the systemic activity of the whole brain," Hanson explains. into individual cells or neurons, you have to consider different areas of the brain to understand the most simple activities. '

In the study, there were 130 participants, each performing a different mental activity, from reading, to memorizing the list, to making complex decisions like venture capital, while those of This subject was photographed by fMRI method. With an accuracy of over 80%, the researchers were able to identify which active object in the eight survey activities by analyzing the fMRI data of that object and comparing it with the criteria Type developed from fMRI results of previous subjects. Researchers can also determine what kind of object a person is looking at (human face, house, animal, etc.) by analyzing the pattern of activity behind the brain where information is processed. and then transmitted to the anterior brain region - the area associated with awareness.

'This has the same principle as in a car accident. The accident took place first, and after about 10 millionths of a second you will be aware that you have been stabbed, ' Hanson explained. 'By observing the back part of a person's brain, you can read that the person is looking at the dogs before they really know where they are looking.'

Unlike previous studies that focused on specific brain regions, Hanson and his colleagues looked at patterns of connections between millions of points inside the brain.Interestingly, the models of the nervous system associated with the eight trials mentioned above seem very similar. According to Hanson, the reason is because different brain activities tend to involve many similar processes. For example, remembering a vocabulary list in which the word 'dog' is likely will mobilize the memory of a dog; And when reading a story about dogs, the same thing happens. By using vector assistants capable of analyzing and classifying a large amount of data, the researchers have identified very small differences that allow accurate prediction of the specific function of the object's brain. Ongoing survey.

'It's like looking at two patterns of the same petal arrangement,' Hanson said. 'Both models have the same petals, but they are not exactly the same, so they have little differences. With the method of analyzing the model that we have developed, there are clues that will be discovered and from there determine the specific brain activity that is taking place. '

Hanson and his team plan to develop a system to identify abnormalities in the neural connection system to aid in the study of neurological disorders such as autism or excessive and lack of anxiety. concentration (ADHD).

The study received funding support from the US Naval Research Office, the James S. McDonnell Foundation and the National Science Foundation. At the same time, the McDonnell fund recently awarded a $ 1 million prize to Hanson for his contributions in this area.