Brain imaging is both compelling and challenging. Several thousand miles of connecting tissue and over 100 billion nerve cells control every movement, thought, sensation, and emotion that comprises the human experience. Many imaging technologies to explore this are now available. They can broadly be subdivided into two subcategories - structural and molecular.

Molecular imaging probes the chemistry of the brain. In cancer there is excessive cell proliferation. This can be imaged using positron emission tomography (PET). The treatment of affective disorders like depression and schizophrenia involves the use of drugs that bind to molecules that regulate the transmission of nerve impulses through synapses. PET, or a similar more readily available technique called single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), can be used to study the effect that these drugs have on the brain by using specially designed molecular imaging tracers.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an ideal technique for structural imaging in the brain, with better tissue contrast than computerised tomography (CT). It can also be set up to be sensitive to the diffusion of water and thereby produce maps of white matter tracts; a technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Alternatively, MRI can exploit the contrast in signal resulting from the change in balance between oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin caused by the performance of a specific task. This is used to study regional brain activation and is referred to as functional MRI (fMRI).

For more information on imaging visit the 'research themes' section of this web site.