The
first chapter of the book is called “For Those Who Have Eyes, Let Them See:
Images into the Mind.” The beginning of the chapter goes into detail on Single Photon
Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), which is used to make a comprehensive image
of the brain. Essentially, a radioactive isotope is bound to a substance that
is attracted to brain cells. This substance is injected into the person’s vein
where it runs through the bloodstream and to the brain. Afterwards, a SPECT “gamma”
camera rotates slowly around the patient’s head, and a supercomputer
reconstructs brain activity levels from the images.
From
this technique, it is possible to create an accurate and sophisticated brain
map showing blood flow and metabolism. From tens of thousands of brain scans
conducted over many years with different patients, doctors have been able to
correlate certain brain maps with particular disorders or imbalances. Therefore,
we now have the ability to identify patterns associated with brain function and
different behaviors. The rest of the chapter details what is unique about this
book. There are actual example images taken from SPECT scans of patients, some
of whom have healthy brains and others who have different neurological disorders.
For instance, with someone (in this case, a person named Ellen) who has
suffered a stroke, that region of their brain shows up as a hole in the SPECT
image (possibly due to the lack of blood flow in that region).
I
found it very interesting that we can now use these SPECT scans to practically
determine what conditions or deficiencies a person may or may not have.
Surprisingly, these have been used as evidence in court cases, and I can now
see the significance that they have in many peoples’ lives. However, the
diagnosis must be accurate for it to be beneficial. Assuming this is true, I
know that we have the potential to make better diagnoses involving certain
disorders, especially those that have similar symptoms.
This
book states that, “you’ll see scientific evidence that your anxiety,
depression, anger, obsessiveness, or impulsiveness could be related to how
specific structure in your brain work.” From this chapter, I can certify that
this statement holds true. My prediction is that this may lead to the author
discussing in general what certain behaviors correspond to in the brain.
And eventually, how we can treat some of these behaviours and "change our lives."
Your final comment here leads me right to my big question: "So, how can we CHANGE our brains????" All of what you've written about sounds incredibly cool and useful. Clearly, the more we know about our own brains, the better off we will be. It makes sense that distortions in the brain go along with distortions in emotions and behavior. But this pushes some pretty interesting--scary?--questions: are we living in a deterministic world in which our material form (in this case, the form of our brain) determines our life's path? It would be nice to think that we have some control over our destiny. So, you MUST find out how we can control our brains! What leads to these physical changes and distortions? Is it merely chemical? Find out!
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