About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about brain scanning techniques, specifically Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Axial Tomography (CAT) scans, focusing in particular on: (i) the use of a radioactive substance injected into the patient in a PET scan, to record brain activity; (ii) the key focal point of a PET scan being the observation of blood flow volumes in particular brain regions, indicating increased levels of activity in those high blood flow regions; (iii) the fact that the radioactive tracer isn’t metabolised in the brain meaning that it can allow the recording of colourful, three-dimensional images of brain activity; (iv) the real-time nature of PET scan outputs increasing their usefulness for mapping brain activity; (v) the meaning of the different colours present in a PET scan image; (vi) the application of PET scans in diagnosing conditions like Alzheimer’s and epilepsy; (vii) the evaluation of brain scanning methods, accounting for both temporal and spatial resolution; (viii) the use of x-rays to produce the CAT scan’s imagery, which come in the form of ‘slices’; (ix) a small but key risk with CAT scans being radiation exposure; (x) the visibility of lesions or decayed areas of the brain in black in a CAT scan image.

About the lecturer

Dr Ivana Babicova is a lecturer in psychology in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University. Dr Babicova’s research interests are in dementia, pain assessment and positive psychology. Some of Dr Babicova’s recent publications include ‘Validation and evaluation of psychometric properties of PainChek®: an electronic pain assessment tool for people with moderate-to-severe dementia’ and ‘Pain in people with dementia: a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of observational pain assessment tools’ (2020).