UA Researchers Developing Brain-Mapping Technology

Dec. 16, 2015

Biomedical engineer Russell Witte is leading a $1.15 million NIH project to create a new type of imaging with the potential to advance understanding of brain function and improve diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.

“We know very little about how neurons act collectively to guide our thoughts, emotions and behaviors – or cause seizures or mood swings,” Witte said. “Functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography have provided some clues. But both fMRI and EEG share a major limitation: They produce images with poor resolution. We think our new technology could overcome that limitation.”

The project is part of the U.S. government’s BRAIN Initiative, or Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. BRAIN involves 80 public and private research institutions working together to map the human brain and build a model that reveals how individual nerve cells and complex neural circuits interact.