The University of Nottingham has a rich history in the development and application of brain imaging.
The pioneering work of Sir Peter Mansfield throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s saw him awarded a Nobel Prize for his development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. Today, the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, now under the directorship of Professor Peter Morris, has expanded rapidly. A unique combination of state-of-the-art equipment and wide-ranging expertise makes it one of the most sophisticated neuroimaging laboratories in the world.
In addition to MRI, the centre is well known internationally for its research into a number of other technologies: an example being a brain scanning technique called MEG (magnetoencephalography).
The human brain is, essentially, an electrical circuit, albeit a fiendishly complicated one.
Separate brain areas communicate with one another via exchanges of electrical currents. Similar electrical currents allow the brain to control the body.
All electrical currents generate magnetic fields and the idea of MEG is to measure those magnetic fields outside the head, and use them to reconstruct an image of the flow of electrical current in the brain. In this way, MEG is unlike MRI – rather than simply taking a picture of inside your head, MEG assesses what the brain is actually doing; in other words, it measures brain function.
The Nottingham MEG team are already undertaking studies into schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.
What is more, MEG is a safe, non-invasive procedure – participants only have to sit in a chair, with their head in a helmet, and "think".
Despite huge progress and exciting potential, however, MEG remains limited. It is a relatively new imaging technique and researchers simply don't have enough data to determine what constitutes the typical MEG signature.
Recently, a partnership between eight MEG centres across Great Britain was formed to address this problem. It is funded by the Medical Research Council and the goal is to collect data from 600 healthy people across the UK.
We are looking for healthy participants between 18 and 65 to take part in this research. If you are interested, please contact Lesley Martin on 01159 514747 and quote Study Reference BH. In return for your participation, we will provide an inconvenience allowance – and a picture of your brain to take home.