Better, faster brain scans are helping scientists get a more accurate picture of how neurons gather together in groups called networks. In a new study published in Neuron, scientists at Washington University in St. Louis used a new technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG, pictured) to watch how neurons communicate with each other. The researchers recorded the brain activity of two groups of people: one who were resting and watching a move, and the other that was instructed to notice specific changes in movie scenery and plot. Changes in movie scenery was associated with specific changes in neural networks in the visual cortex. Whereas fMRI can only record brain activity that cycles once every 10 seconds, MEG can record activity down to 50 cycles each second. This technique will greatly improve our understanding of the brain, researchers say.
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Journal article: Natural Scenes Viewing Alters the Dynamics of Functional Connectivity in the Human Brain. Neuron, 2013. doi: 10.1016/
Image credit: Oxfordjournals
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