Magnetic resonance imaging was first invented in 1977. It was a significant advance in brain research and can be used to diagnose various conditions. MRIs can be used on any body part, and you may have had one if you have had an injury. However, in psychology, they are mainly used to study the brain.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a type of imaging that shows the structures of the brain. It allows researchers to see the inner workings of the brain. For instance, if a person has a brain tumor, the MRI images will show the growing tumor inside the skull. On the other hand, if there are no parts of their brain, the images will show an empty black space.
Knowing that a particular feature of the brain makes people more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s or autism could be used to improve the academic performance of those with these conditions.
Brain Scans and Psychology
Various studies on the role of specific brain regions in disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s have been conducted using brain imaging. Some of these include functional MRI and PET imaging, which can monitor the activity of the brain while a person is performing a task. Traditional MRI can also measure the brain’s shape and size.
Many people would be surprised to learn that, even if a person has a mental illness, we can’t diagnose them based on brain imaging. Various factors prevent a person from being diagnosed with a psychiatric condition.
For example, everybody is different. We mean that literally in this case, as patients with the same diagnosis may present vastly different levels of brain activity. In other words, not every condition will present with similar marks. How depression shows in the brain scan for one patient may look significantly different from a different patient also suffering from depression.
This makes it challenging to create universal standards for diagnosing based on brain scans. Additionally, many psychological conditions share similar symptoms, further blurring the lines regarding diagnosis through this method.
Despite the limitations of brain imaging, it’s still possible to use this technology to diagnose mental disorders. It can help develop new treatment methods for these conditions, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation. In addition, it can help rule out a physical cause of mental symptoms, such as a brain bleed or tumor.