Taking a Look at Brain Mapping

Have you ever been lost in a location foreign to you? Typically, a person who is lost will use a map to gather their bearings before heading off in the correct direction. A similar approach can be used to discuss recent brain mapping technology, the primary research of Dr. Allen Jones. Dr. Allen Jones is a brain research whose ultimate goal is to unveil a complete map of the human brain, using recent brain imaging and histological techniques. In his TED talk entitled, A Map of the Brain, Dr. Allen Jones discusses a brief overview of the anatomical structures of the brain, as well as, the methods and conclusions of his brain research.

The latest research into development and learning of babies and young children shows that early stimulation are vital to the healthy development of brain. Babies are born with 100 billion neuron cells and they need to connect together in order to function. Many of these connections are made as result of what a baby senses and experiences. Stimulation, sufficient sleep and healthy diet makes a difference in allowing connections to be made. Development of brain begins well before birth. Neurons (cells in the brain which transmit electrical impulses to other cells) are formed between the 10th and 20th week of pregnancy. These cells are critical as they will later join together to allow the brain to function properly. Electrical pulses pass between cells via dendrites and axons which causes the connection between the neuron cells. The dendrites and axons of the neurons develop and begin the process of joining up in the final two months of pregnancy. Those that have not made enough strong connections are killed off and this is one reason why some children are

Imagine a football player is tackled and hits the back of his head. As a result, his brain has hit the back of the cranium, then the front.

When it comes to the topic of having a growth mindset, most of us will readily agree that students who are praised are motivated to learn. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how they are praised. Whereas some are convinced that praising students for their intelligence will motivate them to learn, others maintain that encouraging them for their efforts has a better impact on their motivation.

It is obvious that with the comparison of the Space Race, the United States intends to be the first to be able to map the brain. Just like the Space Race, the United States does not quite have all the technologies to fully map the brain, and it enlists the help of the public and will spend millions of dollars to develop and create the technology needed. Just like the Space Race, the United States plans to discover new and useful information about the brain, and as time progresses they will have an abundance of information to map the human

The frontal lobe is about reasoning, planning, speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving. The frontal lobe will assess the driver to respond to

There have been various studies which have attempted to investigate whether brain dysfunction can lead to certain defects, and damage to the prefrontal cortex is an area of research that over the years has shown to have negative effects on behaviour, cognition and emotions. The prefrontal cortex is situated on the frontal lobes of the brain and the frontal lobes are generally concerned with discouraging unsuitable and inapt behaviours. The prefrontal cortex usually play a fundamental role in one’s decision making, organisation of information and planning. Hence, any damage to the prefrontal cortex leads to a lack in decision making and an inability to plan.

Infant learning and brain development is fragile and contingent upon numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The most critical time frame for infant brain development is from the second trimester to the first three months of life (Marshall, 2011). During this time, neural pathways are forming, areas of the brain are maturing, and brain development is rapid. From infancy until the age of 3 years, neural pathways are still being formed in response to stimulation and for this reason, it is extremely important for caregivers and parents to be aware of the many factors that can influence brain development in infants (Marshall, 2011).

Because the brain is making so many connections pre-birth to age 3, the first three years of life are the most critical for brain development. After age 3, the "window of opportunity" closes. You're sitting here learning something right now aren't you?!! Although brain connector density is at its highest level in the first three years of life, that doesn't mean that the brain has its greatest brain power at that time. A great deal of learning goes on after the first three years of life. However, the first three years are important for laying the groundwork for healthy psychological development.

The brain is often considered the most complex organ in the human body. It is also the most difficult to understand, given the vast array of different functions spread throughout its mass and the interconnected functionality of its regions that makes subdividing it based on form or function a difficult task. Craddock, et al. (2012), in the article examined, attempt to produce a method for further examining the functional connectivity (FC) of the regions of the brain and subdivide them based on spatial positioning and function. Understanding FC in the brain can significantly improve understanding of many brain functions and the effect of outside stimulus of various parts of the brain. This examination will only be able to take place by creating an accurate whole brain atlas. This creation of a whole brain atlas, or a map of the brain separating it into regions of interest (ROI) based positioning and/or function, has typically been done via fMRI analysis of the brain combined with an anatomically based mapping procedure. This study seeks to use fMRI technology combined with an algorithm to create voxel clusters or ROI’s that optimize both spatial coherence and homogeneity in regards to the FC of the individual ROIs that can closely match of the results of a voxel-wise analysis, while improving on computation power required and interpretability.

2. Functional brain mapping (scanning a person's brain while he or she is performing a certain physical task such as squeezing a ball, or looking at a particular type of picture) is helping researchers better understand how the brain works.

With the advancement in technology, neuroimaging has led to the discovery of male brains containing a greater amount of white matter, while female brains contain more gray matter (Gur et al., 1999). Sun et al. (2015) collected imaging data to track the progress of brain network topology over a five-year period and compared the results between gender differences. Participants in the study included 43 males ranging from ages 22-53, and 28 females from ages 21-59. Only those having no brain disorders, mental illnesses, substance abuse, or first-degree family members with mental illnesses were included in the research. Twenty-eight subjects completed the study and received scans over 5 years. The results supported findings from previous

A newborns brain growth is rapid and their growth and development reflects their experiences and social relationships (Berger,2014). From two weeks after conception until two weeks after birth the brain grows more rapidly than any other organ in the body (Berger,2014). We will now examine what biologically takes place inside the brain of an infant to better try to understand why development at this stage is so crucial. A newborns brain has billions of neurons, that are located in the portion of the brain called the Cortex, and they regulate and control thought, feeling, and sensation (Berger, 2014). In addition, research has found that children younger than

During the first two years the brain is the most flexible and prepared to learn. At this time everything is new. Everything an infant does build brain connections. According to EDUCARER.org "Touch, talking and things an infant sees and smells all build connections if done with continuity in a loving, consistent, and

You live and you learn, from the moment that we breathe our first breath, we are assimilating and are acquiring information. Life changing and profound learning experiences happen before we can even speak, as children our learning process is grandiose. Harvard University published a series of summaries on Child development. One of these articles mentions that “The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood.” ("InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development," n.d.).