Brain imaging has revolutionized medicine, with various methods developed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Electroencephalography, computerized axial tomography, positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging have all been used to diagnose neurological disorders and develop drugs to correct them.
Brain imaging is one of the most dramatic medical and scientific developments in history. Its implications are widespread and its uses innumerable. The ability to see the structure and function of the brain changed the face of medicine forever.
Neuroimaging has come a long way since its discovery by Walter Dandy in 1918. The first images of the brain were taken with a procedure known as ventriculography. Doctors drilled holes in the patient’s skull and injected air into the lateral ventricles of the brain to obtain more accurate X-ray images. This procedure, while precise, was tremendously risky and invasive. Various less invasive and more accurate brain imaging methods have been developed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Electroencephalography, a process of measuring electrical motion in brain activity, was also developed early on. In this method, doctors attach electrodes to a patient’s scalp to read the electrical activity in the brain. Although electroencephalography (EEG) was, and still is, an effective way to measure brain activity, computers have revolutionized the way the world experiences brain imaging. In the 1970s, the introduction of computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT) allowed doctors to use computer-assisted X-ray technology to obtain more precise three-dimensional images of the brain. Doctors have been able to see detailed cross-sections of the brain for the first time.
Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) both depend on the injection of radioactive tracers into the bloodstream. These tracers work their way into the brain and the scanner looks at where the tracers congregate within the brain. Doctors can use these images to determine if there are defects in various sections of the brain.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses magnetic fields and radio waves instead of radioactive materials to create brain images. Protons in the brain react to these stimuli, producing signals that can be used to create a map of the brain. Not only can MRIs offer an excellent view of brain structure, but they can also reveal how the brain works. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), along with PET and SPECT scans, has numerous implications for the diagnosis and treatment of countless diseases and disorders.
Since its inception, brain imaging has made the diagnosis of many neurological disorders more palpable, including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Brain imaging can also detect symptoms of stroke and dementia before they appear. Not only does brain imaging support the diagnosis of neurological disorders, but because it makes it possible to observe the brain’s reaction to extraneous stimuli, it is useful in the development of drugs to correct these disorders.
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