BRAIN & SPINAL CORD IMAGING

• Brain

  Responsible for regulating body functions and responding to stimuli, made of billions of neurons
• Our understanding of brain structure and function is limited for several reasons
• Brain surgery has high risk of damage to neurons and brain itself
• The brain is complex and very delicate
• It is very difficult for neuroscientists to study the brain to find how it works
• Specialised scanners can be used to study the brain without brain surgery
• Complex behaviours

  • Need to be controlled by larger brains which allow you to learn from experience
  • Different regions of the brain are responsible for different functions like speech, taste, smell and movement
• Consciousness

  When you are awake you are aware of yourself and your actions, controlled by the cerebral cortex
• CT scans

  1. Produce 3D images of the brain using X-rays fired at the brain from multiple different directions

  2. Show structures of the brain and allow visualisation of any tissue damage

  3. Don't show the functions of the regions of the brain but symptoms caused by tissue damage can allow neurologists to work out which regions are responsible for which functions
• CT scans are not recommended for pregnant patients or children because of high risks of exposure from X-ray radiation, which is given at a higher level than in a normal X-ray
• PET scans

  1. Use radioactive tracers which collect in areas where there is an increased blood flow

  2. Tracer is introduced to the blood before scan so it can be detected by scanner

  3. Neurologists can use images to study the structure and function of the brain
• PET scans

  • They are expensive to use and radioactive material is used
• Treating damage and disease in the central nervous system is difficult due to limited understanding
• Cancerous tumours can be located deep into the brain or spinal cord and can't be surgically removed from some regions
• Tissues of the nervous system don't repair in the same way that other tissues do
• We don't know exactly which regions of the brain are responsible for which functions
• As the brain is very fragile, any potential treatment has risks of further damage which can lead to increased problems
• Accidental damage could lead to speech or motor issues or permanent personality changes