B3.1.4 The Brain Flashcards

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1
Q

Fun fact!

A

An adult brain contains approx 86 billion neurones

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2
Q

5 main areas of brain

A

Cerebrum- controls complex behaviour such as learning, memory, personality and conscious thought
Cerebellum- controls balance posture and involuntary movement
Medulla- controls automatic actions like heart and breathing rate
Hypothalamus- regulates temperature and water balance
Pituitary gland- stores and releases hormones that regulate many body functions

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3
Q

Difficulties when investigating brain function

A

Patients must give consent to medical info being shared
People who live with brain damage may be unable to agree to experiments so close relatives would have to
Many parts of the nervous system are not accessible and some regions of the brain cannot be treated at all
Accidental damage could lead to speech or motor issues, or changes to personality which are permanent
Several areas of the brain may be involved in a specific function
Some people aren’t willing to take part
Many people believe animal testing is unethical

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4
Q

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY

A

Water containing radioactive oxygen is injected into blood
Moves around body and enters brain
Radioactive water gives off gamma rays which can be detected
Working parts of brain will give off more gamma rays
Researchers can therefore see what parts of the brain are working when patients complete certain activities

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5
Q

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

A

Uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body

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6
Q

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

A

The patient lies on a bed which passes through a ring of equipment (not into the machine like in MRI). The ring takes a series of x-rays from different angles.
These are processed by a computer to allow the doctors to see inside brains and other parts of the body. (3d images)

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7
Q

Disadvantage of CT scan

A

Cannot be used regularly since x ray radiation increase risk of cancer

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8
Q

Disadvantage of mri

A

Because of these strong magnets, all patients must be carefully screened for metal or implantable electronic devices before they are put into an MRI scanner because the magnets could excite these materials, harming the patient.
Claustrophobic patients
anxiety

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9
Q

Advantages of fmri

A

It is non-invasive and doesn’t involve radiation, making it safe for the subject.
It has excellent spatial and good temporal resolution.
It is easy for the experimenter to use.

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10
Q

FMRI

A

The subject lies down on a flat bed within the MRI machine.
A brief scan is performed to identify the exact location of the brain.
During the fMRI scan, the subject performs specific tasks or stimuli.
These tasks are designed to activate different regions of the brain, allowing researchers to observe changes in blood flow
The fMRI machine captures images of the brain’s activity by detecting changes in blood flow.
This data is collected over multiple time points to create a series of images.
Once the scan is complete, the raw data is processed using specialized software.
This involves aligning the images, removing noise, and statistically analyzing the data to identify areas of increased activity.
They may compare the activation patterns across different conditions or groups to understand how the brain responds to various stimuli or tasks.

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11
Q

Disadvantage of FMRI

A

Brain activity changes extremely fast so fMRI can’t scan fast enough to capture very detailed brain activity.
It can only capture a clear image if the person being scanned stays completely still

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12
Q

Disadvantage of pet

A

A hard time fitting into the PET/CT machine if you are overweight.
Claustrophobia, if you are unable to be in enclosed spaces.
Allergic reactions to a tracer

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13
Q

Function of PET

A

PET scans can be used to check certain brain disorders, such as tumors, Alzheimer’s disease and seizures by detecting brain abnormalities

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14
Q

Function of fmri

A

examine which parts of the brain are handling critical functions
evaluate the effects of stroke or other disease
guide brain treatment

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15
Q

Function of mri

A

to investigate or diagnose conditions that affect soft tissue such as tumours or brain disorders

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16
Q

Function of CT

A

to assess the brain for tumors and other lesions, injuries, intracranial bleeding, structural anomalies particularly when another type of examination are inconclusive.

17
Q

Function of PET

A

to evaluate organs and/or tissues for the presence of disease or other conditions
most commonly used to investigate confirmed cases of cancer to determine how far the cancer has spread and how well it’s responding to treatment (evaluation)