Clinical neurobiological research
Clinical neurobiological research builds up knowledge about neurological and psychiatric disorders such as
anxiety, motor disturbance and dementia.
The study of signal transmission in and functional activation of the brain has a particularly prominent
place, and includes current mapping of motor control and learning.
There is therefore a strong basis for making a significant contribution to exploration of the body-mind problem by means of techniques that produce images of brain function in
living, active human beings.
Clinical neurobiological research investigates the connection between human behaviour and the functioning of the nervous system.
The research takes place in the zone of interaction between basic and clinical research.
Amongst its tools are several non-invasive imaging techniques that are able to represent the functioning of the brain and permit molecular-level imaging analyses. This relatively new field of research is known as “molecular imaging”.
The techniques used for imaging studies are based on the latest advanced
technology, and make possible the reconstruction of three-dimensional pictures of a number of biological variables
within, for example, the specific neuroreceptors, nerve fibres tracks in the
brain, and brain areas participating in a specific cognitive or motor tasks.
These techniques include:
1) Magnetic resonance (MR), which, apart from its other applications, allows us to investigate the functional activation of the
brain. When used for this purpose it is known as functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI). It allows us to demonstrate what areas of the brain are activated when a person moves a
hand, for example. A recent research result shows that recognition of objects that can be
handled, such as a cup or a hammer, activates areas that participate in planning the handling of those
objects. In Denmark, methods for such investigations have been explored and used particularly in Copenhagen.
2) Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT), which produce images of receptor systems in living
humans.
Receptors are proteins found on the outside of the nerve cell membrane. They bind specific signalling substances
(neurotransmitters), which are released in the brain when an impulse is transmitted from one nerve cell to
another. The neurotransmitters transmit a signal through the membrane and trigger a reaction in the second cell – thereby functioning as the brain’s
messengers.
These receptor systems show wide individual variations, and research has recently shown that these variations are to a large extent genetically determined
(hereditary).
This therefore opens the way for new research into the relation between receptor systems and personality, disease
processes, etc.
3) Magnetoencephalography (MEG), which records the small spontaneous changes that take place in the brain’s own magnetic fields when brain cells
work, that is, when an impulse travels along a nerve.
This method offers a very high time resolution, which means that it is possible to
follow, for example, how a command is first registered in the auditory or visual areas of the
brain, and then milliseconds later activates motor areas before being followed by a
movement.
There is as yet no MEG centre in Denmark, but work is in progress to establish one as a joint facility for the Copenhagen neurological research
environment.
Interdisciplinary research
The research will have a highly interdisciplinary character, with:
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- physicists and engineers working on methods;
- radio- and medical chemists working on the
development of radioactively labelled tracers;
- engineers and computer scientists working on data analysis and
neuroinformatics;
- psychologists and humanists working on the investigation of specific brain
functions; and
- biologists and medical specialists carrying out studies of biochemical and physiological processes in the
brain, and changes in them associated with diseases that affect the brain.^
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