In this blog series, we’re going to talk about an emerging field of study called cognitive neuroscience. But don’t worry. We’re going to leave (most of) the 7-syllable words to the textbooks and wikipedia entries. Instead, we’re going to focus on the practical applications of this science on our every-day life.

Speaking of every day life, you don’t have to roam the halls of a teaching hospital or suffer a life-altering brain injury to be effected by research in cognitive neuroscience.

If you’ve watched a television or searched for something on the internet at over the past few years, your experience has probably been influenced by cognitive neuroscience.

A brief history:
Before we dive in to the practical application, a bit of context might be helpful. You’ve probably seen or heard of an MRI machine before. It’s a giant cylindrical tube that takes images of soft tissue in the body. If you break a bone, you get an x-ray. If you sprain your knee, you get an MRI. These images are static, like a photograph. They give doctors an idea of what is going on inside your body when something is static over time (like a broken bone or a torn ligament).

For several years, MRI machines have been used to take photographs of people’s brains. They’re helpful in diagnosing static problems in the brain that result from things like strokes or traumatic brain injuries. Things that are kind of like torn ligaments, but in the brain. In the 1990’s, a huge scientific breakthrough occurred. Some researchers developed a way of using MRI technology to measure blood flow in the brain. This led to the creation of the fMRI machine. At the risk of grossly oversimplifying things, if an MRI takes photographs, an fMRI shoots video.

This “video” (it’s really more like one frame every few seconds) has given scientists and researchers an unprecedented look inside the human brain and how it works. This has led to a tremendous amount of research that has given us a much better idea of how the brain works and how it effects things like mood and behavior.

This research has, in turn, effected everything from how we perform psychotherapy to how advertisers craft more effective television commercials.

A hope for the future:
Hidden inside all of this information about soft tissue, blood flow and MRI vs. fMRI is something really powerful and really practical. It’s called “hope.” We know more about the human brain right now than any other generation in the history of the world. Which means, if you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction or any other form of mental distress, there’s never been a better time to reach out for help.

Because all of this stuff isn’t just data that exists in a laboratory, this stuff is information – tools – that can be used to help us thrive.

Eric McClerren, MA CIT
emcclerren @ growcounseling.com