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Speculations about the future
Source: 2002 SEP;:445-457.
Author: Mazziotta JC, Toga AW.
Abstract:
Predicting the future has never been easy. In a time where technological advances and innovative applications of new techniques have never been greater, the future of brain mapping and its counterpart in animal models is indeed a difficult predictive task. Surprisingly, a few things are certain. First, existing techniques will be both refined and applied to an ever growing range of neuroscientific questions. Second, spatial and temporal resolution as well as sampling will continue to increase for exisiting devices and will be the goal of newly developed methods. Third, invasiveness of techniques will continue to decline. Fourth, new techniques will emerge from other disciplines such as physics, optics, engineering, and chemistry. Fifth, data sets from different modalities will be combined with increasing regularity, and composite images of structure and function will be the norm rather than the exception. Sixth, sophisticated statistical mathematical, and display approaches will result in evermore comprehensive and quantitative data analysis, automaticity, and display of data sets. Finally, techniques developed at the bench and tested in laboratories will find their way, not only into the scientific investigation of normal brain function, but also in the diagnosis and management of patients with cerebral disorders. This chapter looks into the murky crystal ball of the future areas where current insights and innovations lead to plausible, though speculative, predictions. CONCLUSION: If history can teach us about the future, we can look forward to even more exciting advances in the development of brain mapping strategies. Almost every great leap in neuroscience has been preceded by the development of instrumentation or methodology: deoxyglucose autoradiography to map metabolic rates, CT to visualize the brain in vivo, MRI to examine detailed anatomy, or PET to map functionally active brain regions. The rate of methodological progress has been steadily increasing, resulting in more comprehensive and useful maps of brain structure and function. An ever-improving relationship exists between neuroscience and those disciplines that can help accelerate the development of tools to map the brain.
Source: 2002 SEP;:445-457.
Author: Mazziotta JC, Toga AW.
Abstract:
Predicting the future has never been easy. In a time where technological advances and innovative applications of new techniques have never been greater, the future of brain mapping and its counterpart in animal models is indeed a difficult predictive task. Surprisingly, a few things are certain. First, existing techniques will be both refined and applied to an ever growing range of neuroscientific questions. Second, spatial and temporal resolution as well as sampling will continue to increase for exisiting devices and will be the goal of newly developed methods. Third, invasiveness of techniques will continue to decline. Fourth, new techniques will emerge from other disciplines such as physics, optics, engineering, and chemistry. Fifth, data sets from different modalities will be combined with increasing regularity, and composite images of structure and function will be the norm rather than the exception. Sixth, sophisticated statistical mathematical, and display approaches will result in evermore comprehensive and quantitative data analysis, automaticity, and display of data sets. Finally, techniques developed at the bench and tested in laboratories will find their way, not only into the scientific investigation of normal brain function, but also in the diagnosis and management of patients with cerebral disorders. This chapter looks into the murky crystal ball of the future areas where current insights and innovations lead to plausible, though speculative, predictions. CONCLUSION: If history can teach us about the future, we can look forward to even more exciting advances in the development of brain mapping strategies. Almost every great leap in neuroscience has been preceded by the development of instrumentation or methodology: deoxyglucose autoradiography to map metabolic rates, CT to visualize the brain in vivo, MRI to examine detailed anatomy, or PET to map functionally active brain regions. The rate of methodological progress has been steadily increasing, resulting in more comprehensive and useful maps of brain structure and function. An ever-improving relationship exists between neuroscience and those disciplines that can help accelerate the development of tools to map the brain.