The Study of Sound

A scan of the brain can help detect abnormalities and help diagnose disease. The technology is also being used in other arenas, such as mapping of brain functioning. Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute recently examined the brain's neural systems in regards to processing images and sounds. "It turns out that the brain uses the same strategy to encode sounds than it uses to encode different images. This may make it easier for people to combine sounds and images that belong to the same object, such as the dribbling of a basketball" explains the study leader at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Participants in the study underwent an FMRI, a functional magnetic resonance imaging test, in order to examine brain reactions. Researchers want to understand how the brain decodes information including sounds. The future of such research is still unknown. Researchers hope one day to be able to analyze brain patterns and possibly even reconstruct dreams.