Hes talking about his research study on the human brain in general, and on brain finger prints in particular. He found out that every one of us has a brain “fingerprint” and that this finger print constantly alters in time.
” My research study examines networks and connections within the brain, and particularly the links in between the various locations, in order to acquire greater insight into how things work,” says Amico. His research group processes the scans to generate charts, represented as vibrant matrices, that sum up a subjects brain activity. Our connectomes change based on what activity was being carried out and what parts of the brain were being utilized,” states Amico.
2 scans are all it takes
A couple of years ago, neuroscientists at Yale University studying these connectomes found that each people has a distinct brain finger print. Comparing the charts created from MRI scans of the exact same topics taken a couple of days apart, they had the ability to correctly compare the 2 scans of a given subject nearly 95% of the time. In other words, they might accurately recognize an individual based upon their brain finger print. “Thats really impressive since the identification was used only practical connectomes, which are essentially sets of correlation ratings,” states Amico
” All the info we require remains in these graphs, that are commonly called “functional brain connectomes.” Credit: Enrico Amico.
He decided to take this discovering one action further. In previous studies, brain finger prints were recognized utilizing MRI scans that lasted a number of minutes. However he wondered whether these prints could be identified after just a few seconds, or if there was a specific point in time when they appear– and if so, the length of time would that minute last? “Until now, neuroscientists have identified brain fingerprints using 2 MRI scans taken control of a fairly extended period. But do the fingerprints really appear after simply 5 seconds, for example, or do they need longer? And what if finger prints of different brain locations appeared at different moments in time? Nobody understood the response. We tested different time scales to see what would occur,” states Amico.
A brain finger print in just 1 minute and 40 seconds
His research group discovered that 7 seconds wasnt enough time to find useful data, however that around 1 minute and 40 seconds was. “We recognized that the details required for a brain finger print to unfold might be acquired over extremely brief time periods,” says Amico. “Theres no need for an MRI that determines brain activity for five minutes. Shorter time scales could work too.” His study also showed that the fastest brain fingerprints start to appear from the sensory areas of the brain, and especially the areas related to eye movement, visual perception and visual attention. As time passes, also frontal cortex regions, the ones associated to more complex cognitive functions, start to expose unique details to each of us.
The next step will be to compare the brain finger prints of healthy clients with those experiencing Alzheimers disease. “Based on my initial findings, it seems that the features that make a brain fingerprint unique gradually disappear as the illness advances,” says Amico. “It gets harder to identify individuals based on their connectomes. Its as if an individual with Alzheimers loses his/her brain identity.”
Along this line, possible applications might include early detection of neurological conditions where brain finger prints get vanish. Amicos method can be used in patients affected by autism, or stroke, and even in topics with drug addictions. “This is just another little step towards comprehending what makes our brains distinct: the opportunities that this insight may develop are endless.”
A success story of the SNSF Ambizione program
Enrico Amicos research has been made possible thanks to an SNSF Ambizione Fellowship. “This unique program had the ability to draw in a promising young scientist to Switzerland when he was a post-doctoral scholar at Purdue University,” points out Prof. Van De Ville, head of the Medical Image Processing Laboratory. “Ambizione has actually allowed him to pursue independently his research ideas, but likewise to select on effective cooperations with the host lab. It is rewarding to see these goals accomplished.”
Reference: 15 October 2021, Science Advances.DOI: 10.1126/ sciadv.eabj0751.
Hes talking about his research study on the human brain in basic, and on brain fingerprints in particular. He found out that every one of us has a brain “finger print” and that this fingerprint constantly alters in time. “We recognized that the information required for a brain fingerprint to unfold might be obtained over extremely short time durations,” states Amico. His study also revealed that the fastest brain finger prints start to appear from the sensory locations of the brain, and particularly the areas related to eye movement, visual perception and visual attention. “Based on my preliminary findings, it appears that the features that make a brain fingerprint special steadily vanish as the illness progresses,” states Amico.