4A - Neuroimaging Techniques Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is Structural Neuroimaging?
Techniques that produce images (or scans) showing brain structure and anatomy.
Examples: CT, MRI
What is Functional Neuroimaging?
Techniques that provide views of brain function by showing images of the brain ‘at work’ and information about brain structure.
Examples: PET, fMRI
What is Computerised Tomography (CT)?
CT uses X-ray equipment to scan the brain at different angles, creating images of horizontal cross-sections. A contrast substance is used to highlight blood vessels.
What are the pros and cons of CT scans?
Pros:
- Useful for locating brain injuries and tumours
- Cheap and quick
- Helps identify brain abnormalities linked to mental illness
Cons:
- Only shows brain structure
- Images are less clear than those from other technologies
What is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)?
MRI uses harmless magnetic fields to vibrate atoms and to generate a computer image, used to detect disease or disorder.
What are the pros and cons of MRI scans?
Pros:
- more sensitive than CT scans
- Full colour images
- safer than x-rays (no radiation)
Cons:
- Not safe for pacemaker users (magnets interfere)
What is a Positron Emission Tomography (Pet) scan?
Produces coloured images of the brain, and functional activity, by tracing levels of radioactive substance in the brain.
What are the pros and cons of Pet scans?
Pros:
- Used to record the level of activity in different areas when doing task such as imagining, remembering, talking etc.
Cons:
- Patients need a glucose injection, with a short lived radioactive tracer
- PET are less detailed than MRI images
What is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)?
It detects and records oxygen consumption across the brain.
What are the pros and cons of fMRI?
Pros:
- No radioactive tracer like the PET
- Covers changes of seconds not minutes, making them more detailed
Con:
- Expensive to run
