Imaging Techniques Can Monitor Brain Developmental Changes and Maturity

Monitoring of brain changes as it develops from childhood to maturity seems now possible using periodic five-minute brain scans. Scientists claim that it is possible to monitor a child's mental development just like we monitor its weight and height. These findings were the result of a study published in the journal Science, 10 September issue.
Nico Dosenbach, author of the study, and a team of researchers, have examined the functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRIs) brain scans of subjects ranging in age between 7 and 30 years. These fcMRIs measure neuronal connections in the resting brains of subjects. They then used pattern analysis software, a computer program, for determining how neuronal connections change as brain maturity occurs over time. The authors explained in their study that 13,000 measurements of functional brain connections can be revealed using a five-minute scan. The team of researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique which measures brain activity by blood flow changes correlation to different brain regions. MRI scans are considered to be a safe technique, as it does not use radiation....