Mapping the mysteries of the brain

Professor Kenneth Hugdahl leads an interdisciplinary research group which has gained expertise in mapping the functions of the brain. Their expertise has brought people from far and wide to be tested.

Just recently, a Finnish family with an inherited language defect came to Bergen to be studied by the research group. Five members of three generations of this family were sent all the way from their warm by the Russian border with Finland to be studied by in the researchers.

They all suffer from a genetically determined language defect known as Specific Language Disability. Its symptoms are a delay in the development of speech, poor ability to read and write, and problems in distinguishing sounds. The result is a reduced vocabulary. This disease is a relatively uncommon, and we still do not know whether it is caused by brain damage, while effective training programmes are not available. A Finnish colleague asked Kenneth Hugdahl to perform tests of their brain functions.

Stores a functional map of the brain

The research group uses a magnetic resonance (MR) tomograph to map the areas of the brain that are activated when we perform specific cognitive activities. This instrument enables us to look directly into the brain. It is normally used to produce images of the brain, for example when there is suspicion of a tumour. The MR instrument produces an image of the structure of the brain. The research group uses the same basic technique, but it produces a map of the brain's functions by making what is known as a "functional MRI imaging" recording.

"The subject or patient lies in the machine while he or she is given cognitive tasks such as memory tasks to solve mentally. The machine makes a series of images of the brain's activity while these problems are being solved. The pictures record indirectly what the central nervous system is doing. When nervous system cells are activated, the level of oxygen in the blood of the region of the brain rises. This means that we can observe the flow of blood through various regions of the brain", says Hugdahl.

With the help of advanced computer technology the researchers use the images to produce functional maps of the brain.

Identifying specific brain areas

Members of the Finnish family were studied one after another using this technique.

"We looked at whether all the members of the family had a lower level of neuronal activity in the same regions of the brain. When we have finished analysing these studies, they will provide us with the basis of a training programme which we hope will offer these people a better mastery of their own language", says Hugdahl.

Among the things being studied by the research group is how the language is localised and organised in the brain. This type of research is important not only for this particular Finnish family, but also for persons who suffer from dyslexia or other types of language problems.

"The magnetic resonance technique itself is well known, but what is new is that we can look at the activity of the brain. This gives us enormous possibilities both for basic research and clinical studies".

Measures effects of treatment

It is particularly in their work with psychiatric patients the researchers hope to put themselves in the front line of international research efforts. Twelve people who are suffering from schizophrenia and another 12 with serious depression are taking part in a project which, among other things, measures the effect of different types of medicine. The group is in the process of testing out a relatively new anti-psychotic drug. The psychiatrist Anders Lund points out that the results are very interesting.

"In schizophrenics there is a low level of activity in the frontal area of the brain, where complex mental activities such as memory are located. We are testing whether medicines can help to increase the level of of activity in this part of the brain. Patients are studied before treatment and then 6-10 months later. In this way we can see whether medication also has an effect on the functions of the brain. It looks as though the new medicine has a good effect", says Lund.

"About one per cent of the population suffer from schizophrenia. A much larger proportion have depression - perhaps 10 to 20 per cent of the population of Norway. We are also studying a sample of patients with serious depression who have undergone treatment, in order to see whether the treatment has any measurable effects", says Lund.

	Making a person ready for the fMRI-experiment

The method can also be employed on patients who are following particular therapeutic programmes or conversation therapy. With the help of the functional magnetic resonance technique psychiatrists can measure the effect of treatment at an early stage. Lund points out that today the most important benefit of this technique is that it gives us new knowledge abut psychological illnesses.

"A current hypothesis in psychiatry is that serious depression leaves traces in the brain. It also turns out that the chances of developing senility are much greater in elderly persons who suffer from depression. Problems of this sort are what we are currently investigating", says Lund.

In clinical use

Kenneth Hugdahl emphasises that it is precisely this type of research on psychiatric patients that the group of researchers wishes to continue. He believes that the functional MR technique also has great potential for clinical applications in other groups of patients.

"We are working closely with the Radiology Department, the Department of Neurology and the Department of Neurosurgery at Haukeland Hospital, and we have recently begun to carry out pre-operative studies. Among other things, we are looking at patients with brain tumours before they are operated, and are able to provide surgeons with vital information about how much of the brain can be removed without damaging essential functions", explains Hugdahl.

This is being done in close co-operation with chief consultant Alf Inge Smievoll of the Radiology Department , who is a member of the MR Group's steering committee.

Differences between men and women

A large proportion of the activity of the MR group consists of pure basic research. This has also produced some very interesting results. The research group has performed studies of differences between men and women, which have also produced some interesting results.

"The persons who took part in the experiments were asked to decide whether two figures were identical. It turned out that women, in addition to using the same part of the brain as men, also used that region of the brain in which the speech centre is located. It thus looks as though women "talk themselves" into a solution to this sort of problem", says Hugdahl.

He points out that there is not a "correct" method for solving such problems, but rather that men and women employee different strategies.

"Improving our general knowledge of the brain can make a contribution to the construction of theories of the relationship between biology and social roles, for example", he says, but he emphasises that it is up to others to draw conclusions about this.

"We are simply trying to understand some of the many mysteries of the brain", says Hugdahl.

boys have quite different strategies for dealing with life after their parents die, especially as regards economic survival. Many girls do housework for relatives for small sums of money, or are given bed and board in return for their work. I have found this both in my own work and in other studies", says Hellen Apila. She is taking a Master's degree in Gender and Development at the Centre for Women'