NEUR 2P36 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography, Diffusion Mri
4 Oct 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Cognitive/behavioural neuroscience combines bio and psyc to connect neural functions to behaviours. Emergent properties characteristics of a system that are not part of the individual components that make up the system. A brain area"s function depends on communication among neurons, the building blocks of behaviour . Neuron activity somehow produces behaviour and experience. All of our thoughts, experiences and actions are direct reflections of the activity of the brain. The function of a neuron depends on its output. Tracing these connections can tell neuroscientist what the cell does. It is possible to label cells that provide input to the neuron as well as the cells that the neuron sends messages to. Diffusion tensor imaging provides a way to map these connections in a non-destructive way in living brains. Researchers observe brain activity while the subject performs a particular behaviour. Observing how brain activity changes as behaviour changes provides information about the brain regions that are important for that behaviour.
