Tools of Discovery
How do we know so much about the functions of the various parts of the brain? Modern technology gives us clues into the workings of the billions of neurons that make up your brain. For example, this neuroscientist is using positron emission tomography (PET) scan to study a volunteer’s brain. She has injected the volunteer with a low and harmless dose of a short - lived radioactive sugar. Detectors around the subject's head pick up the release of gamma rays from the sugar, which has concentrated in active brain areas. A computer then processes and translates these signals into a map of the brain at work.
View the presentation on tools of discovery to learn about other techniques used by neuroscientists to study the brain.
