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PET Scan Research Paper

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With our growing interest on how the brain works, modern technology has become extremely important to us as it allows us to build a deeper and more accurate understanding of our brain and its way of functioning. There are many different technological methods nowadays such as the encephalogram (EEG), computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Each of these has slightly different functions and is used to investigate difference types of brain activity. All of these different technologies are useful in different ways, and are used to look into the brain. In this essay two of these technologies, the PET scan and the MRI will be evaluated, looking …show more content…
A PET scan is a type of nuclear medicine imaging, using small doses of radioactive materials to diagnose brain diseases, such as cancers or any neurological disease. They are used to monitor glucose metabolism in the brain. A harmless dose of radioactive glucose is injected into the patient. The scan detects the particles released by the glucose, producing gamma rays which come up as colored maps of brain activity. Some great advantages of PET scans is that they can record ongoing activity in the brain, such as thinking and because of their ability to pinpoint molecular activity within the body, they offer the potential to identify a disease in its earliest stages. PET scans are extremely efficient when it comes to spotting abnormalities in brain activity levels for diseases that may not show up until much later, such as Alzheimer’s …show more content…
They also found an imbalance of activity between the two hemispheres in three other subcortical structures. This suggests that people with a severed corpus callosum can have inappropriate emotional expression and an inability to grasp long-term implications of a situation. When evaluating this study there are certain factors to take into account. The first one being that there were only two female participants, therefore meaning that we would have to generalize all of the female murderers. Another weakness is that this was a natural experiment, which means that the researchers could not randomly allocate participants to either of the two conditions. There is the possibility that any differences in brain activity between the two groups could have been caused by other factors.

MRIs operate by exposing the participant’s brain to a strong magnetic field and radio waves in order to produce detailed pictures of the brain. They are then converted into 3D image of the brain by computers. Physicians can also use the MRI scanners to detect abnormalities in patients’ brains such as dementia. MRIs have a higher sensitivity than CT scans for detecting the presence of, or changes within, a tumour. Unfortunately, people with heart pacemakers, metal plates or screws in their bodies may not be

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