{"id":74,"date":"2008-08-19T13:00:11","date_gmt":"2008-08-19T17:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/humanspark\/?p=74"},"modified":"2018-09-10T15:16:15","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T19:16:15","slug":"spark-blog-video-why-i-volunteer-to-have-my-brain-scanned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/humanspark\/featured\/spark-blog-video-why-i-volunteer-to-have-my-brain-scanned\/74\/","title":{"rendered":"Spark Blog: Video: Why I Volunteer to Have My Brain Scanned"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When new discoveries are made in the field of neuroscience, you often hear that particular areas of the brain are active at particular times, or that other areas don\u2019t have anything to do with specific skills. Once you dig deeper than the headline, you might start to wonder how scientists actually KNOW what\u2019s happening in \u201cthe brain.\u201d There\u2019s not just one master brain out there for them to crack!<\/p>\n

Neuroscientists rely on volunteers who are willing to have their brains analyzed while they perform particular tasks. With luck, over time the scientists are able to look at data from enough individuals to get a sense of what is happening in an \u201caverage\u201d brain during their task of interest.<\/p>\n

Brian Moore is one of the people who has volunteered a couple of times for Helen Neville\u2019s language fMRI studies at the University of Oregon. Find out why in this video clip. Brian is deaf, so he signs his remarks. The voice you\u2019ll hear is that of his interpreter, whose hands you might see a bit at the right of the frame.<\/p>\n

Most research programs are always on the lookout for volunteers\u2026 if this possibility intrigues you, check out what\u2019s happening at your local colleges and universities!<\/p>\n