In August 2008, MIT Technology Review reported on how new imaging technologies are revealing the intricate architecture of the brain, by creating a series of highly-detailed, and never seen before, blueprints of its dense connectivity.
The typical brain scan shows a muted gray rendering of the brain, easily distinguished by a series of convoluted folds. But according to Van Wedeen, an Associate Professor in Radiology at Harvard, that image is just a shadow of the real brain. A new technique called Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) uses magnetic resonance signals to track the movement of water molecules in the brain: water diffuses along the length of neural wires, called axons. Scientists can use these diffusion measurements to map the wires, creating a detailed map of the brain's connectivity.
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