Scientists have found a way to “fingerprint” the human brain

Thomas Schultz, Wikipedia

With advances in technology, scientists from Carnegie Mellon University have found a way to map the patterns of the brain in the finest detail, going beyond the mapping of larger region-to-region connections to mapping the patterns of point-to-point connections.

The non-invasive technology used is diffusion MRI. It’s used to track the movement of water molecules in the brain’s white matter pathways, called local connectome. No two brains have the exact same pattern, not even twins. In the study, scientists were able to determine if two imaged patterns were from the same person, or two different people, 100% of the time.

Also fascinating is that the brain's patterns shift and change over time, about 13% every 100 days. This supports current brain theory that beyond disease and genetics, one’s brain is changed by one’s environment, and by one’s life experiences.

This breakthrough is sure have great implications in other fields of study, but the first and most urgent application will be in the field of medicine. The changes in the brain’s connectivity patterns can be studied for markers for mental disorders and psychiatric illnesses. It’s possible that we’ll eventually be able to stop diseases before they have a chance to develop in the brain. Exciting prospects, indeed.


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