Technologies that Reveal Brain Structures

Abstract Building on previous chapters that review the basics of what is currently known about the brain’s anatomy and how the brain works, this chapter turns to the methods and tools scientists and doctors use to image an individual’s brain structure. This chapter examines several different noninvasive imaging technologies that reveal brain structures: x-ray, computerized axial tomography (CAT, or just CT), structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which is a form of MRI. For each technology, relative advantages and disadvantages, including their spatial resolutions, are discussed. The chapter also identifies how these structural brain-imaging technologies are being used in legal contexts, including the use of DTI in brain injury litigation.