The Brain Unveiled

This video combines different types of brain imaging to visualize a brain tumor in a female patient. Superimposed on a picture of the patient’s head are black and white images generated from traditional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) presented sequentially in three different axes: side to side, front to back, and top to bottom. The tumor is then shown in yellow in the left hemisphere of the brain. Scientists further analyzed the data collected from the MRI to map the network of nerve fibers in the brain, seen here as red, green, and purple fibers. Neurosurgeons use these maps during surgery to remove the tumor to avoid damaging fiber tracts that are linked to important brain functions.