Aalto University studies brain activity in a multidisciplinary research group
15.03.2010
Researchers of aivoAALTO introduced the multidisciplinary brain research of Aalto University to the general public on open lectures held 11 March in Otaniemi. The event was opened by the director of aivoAALTO, Academy Professor Riitta Hari, who introduced some methods used in brain imaging. The lecture series also discussed brain plasticity and the use of economics games and cinema in human brain research.
The most widely known human brain imaging method is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is based on the properties of hydrogen atoms, especially on their precession (change in rotation axis) in a strong magnetic field.
- Magnetic resonance imaging provides informative images of brain structure and function. Computers allow the brain to be ‘blown open’ like a balloon to give a look at the brain surface hidden in the sulci, says Riitta Hari.
The School of Science and Technology has long been developing another noninvasive brain research method, magnetoencephalography (MEG). It measures the weak magnetic fields generated by the electric currents in the brain, and allows studying brain activity with a precision of milliseconds. Hari points out that there are about 100 whole-scalp MEG devices in the world, and Finland has two of them.
The environment shapes the brain
Professor Synnöve Carlson introduced the audience to brain plasticity with the theme ‘can you teach an old dog new tricks’. Carlson works both at Helsinki University and Aalto University.
Brain plasticity has been convincingly demonstrated in many studies.
– If a child is congenitally blind or loses his or her vision at a very young age, the brain adapts to the situation, and the signals arriving via other senses learn to find their way to the visual cortex. For instance, reading Braille with fingers activates the visual cortex of a blind person, but not in a seeing person similarly running his or her fingers over Braille letters.
Normal aging causes minor brain changes that complicate e.g. learning. The changes are, however, less radical than previously thought.
–Nowadays we know that the number of neurons decreases only by 10% during the course of a lifetime. Even the dendrites become fewer only in certain brain regions. Researchers also believe that new brain cells may be generated even in an aged brain’, Carlson continues.
Art as an instrument of brain research
Professor Mikko Sams works in the Mind and Brain laboratory of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science. Together with several other members of the aivoAALTO group, Sams studies brain activity while the subjects are viewing movies.
- Cinema is an interesting stimulus to be applied in brain research, because it evokes great emotions in the viewers. Cinema as a dynamic stimulus with time spans of different durations is interesting from brain activation point of view. Fortunately, the studies are pleasant for the subjects, who have an opportunity to see good films while their brains are scanned, Sams explains.
The most influential films guide the viewers to react in a similar manner. A very successful director of the mind was Alfred Hitchcock, whose films in an American study synchronized the viewers’ brains particularly efficiently.
Brain research meets economics
One member of aivoAalto, PhD Marja-Liisa Halko from the Department of Accounting and Finance at the School of Economics is specialized in neuroeconomics. Halko’s research combines neuroscience, economics and psychology. Neuroeconomics sheds light on an area previously uncharted by economists, the human brain.
- Neuroeconomics studies what happens in the human brain during decision-making, comparison of choices, and risk-taking. Research helps us understand the connections between brain activity and choices made, and it emphasizes the role of both reason and emotion for sound decisions, says Halko.
Additional information:
Docent Elina Pihko, aivoAALTO coordinator
pihko [at] neuro [dot] hut [dot] fi, 050 3442713
aivoAALTO project
