Once called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, the вЂњnuclearвЂќ was dropped off because of fears that people would think there was something radioactive involved, which there is not. This scan uses magnetic fields, radio waves and computer enhancement to provide much better images of brain structure and function than CT scans. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. Doctors and scientists are able to view the three dimensional format on a computer screen. This method of scanning involves computer-enhanced X rays of brain structures, shot from many angles and then combined by the computer to render a clear image of a horizontal slice of the brain. The CT is an acronym for computerized tomography. These methods employ various scanners like the CT (computerized tomography), PET (positron emission tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography). The development of computers made it possible for better and more accurate techniques to be applied to scan the human body. X-ray machines have been the chief mechanical tools for internal observations of the human body since Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1901. The scope of this paper is to discuss brain scanning and to then discuss some of the structures and functions of the brain whose discovery this technology has made possible. This is largely due to advances in nuclear medicine technological advances in noninvasive methods of studying and viewing brain structure and the actual ability to visually measure live neural activity in relation to activity. The knowledge we have of brain structure, function and interrelativity has been substantially accelerated over the last century. The brain is continuous with the spinal cord through the foramen magnum вЂ“ the opening in the skull through which the spinal cord passes to become the medulla oblongata.

It is made up of neuronal cells, supporting and nutritive structures, and is enclosed within the skull.

It includes all the higher nervous centers, receiving stimuli from the sense organs and interpreting and correlating them to formulate the motor impulses. The brain is the portion of the vertebrate central nervous system that constitutes the organ of thought and neural coordination. The system includes nerves that sense external and internal stimuli and then relay the information to the central processing unit - the brain. The main structures are the brain and the spinal cord. The Human Brain And Methods Of Discovery Essay, Research Paper The Human Brain and Methods of Discovery The human nervous system consists of several parts.

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