{"id":874,"date":"2017-08-31T15:51:35","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T23:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kylemathewson.com\/?p=874"},"modified":"2017-08-31T15:51:35","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T23:51:35","slug":"new-equipment-maps-brain-activity-and-blood-flow-in-state-of-the-art-neuroscience-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/new-equipment-maps-brain-activity-and-blood-flow-in-state-of-the-art-neuroscience-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"New equipment maps brain activity and blood flow in state-of-the-art neuroscience lab"},"content":{"rendered":"
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University of Alberta to have first of its kind in Canada<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ualberta.ca\/science\/science-news\/2017\/august\/new-equipment-maps-brain-activity-and-blood-flow-in-neuroscience-lab<\/p>\n

By Katie Willis on August 23, 2017<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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Neuroscientist Kyle Mathewson is pictured here wearing the new optical imaging equipment, called Imagent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Using lasers and photodetectors, a new optical brain-imaging tool is providing a never-before-seen look inside your head. The non-invasive tool projects and measures infrared light as it is projected into the brain and the rate at which it exits, painting a picture of brain activity and blood flow at the same time\u2014something that is impossible without this technology.<\/p>\n

The optical brain-imaging tool, called the\u00a0Imagent<\/a>, comes to the University of Alberta as the result of new funding for neuroscientist\u00a0Kyle Mathewson<\/a>, from the\u00a0John R. Evans Leaders Fund<\/a>\u00a0(JELF), a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) initiative.<\/p>\n

On August 15, Mathewson received funding to purchase this state-of-the-art optimal imaging tool, which allows researchers to accurately measure detailed brain activity in a non-invasive way. The equipment will be housed in a new Shared Cognitive Neuroscience lab in the Faculty of Science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis optical imaging system provides images of rapid changes in brain activity, solving many unanswered questions about how our brains function from moment to moment,\u201d explained Mathewson. \u201cThe system is genuinely cutting edge. Our lab at the University of Alberta will have one of only a few in the world and first of its kind in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Invaluable implications<\/h3>\n

An assistant professor in the\u00a0Department of Psychology<\/a>\u00a0in the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta andNeuroscience and Mental Health Institute<\/a>\u00a0affiliate, Mathewson studies how the brain focuses on and filters out different information. His research has implications from job training and professional development to creating smarter artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to measure a person\u2019s state of attention from moment to moment,\u201d said Mathewson. \u201cFor instance, we could pinpoint the moment when a driver stops paying attention to the road, or determine practices to help students learn better and more efficiently. This tool will allow us unprecedented views of the brain networks that give rise to these and other important behaviours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The implications, Mathewson explained, are huge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis optical imaging system helps to put the UAlberta cognitive neuroscience program even more firmly on the map,\u201d said Mathewson. \u201cSecuring this tool widens the scope of potential research and is already attracting interest from students and scientists around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the grant announcement last week, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science shared a similar sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur scientists need the best tools and equipment for ground-breaking research and discovery and we are committed to ensuring they have them. Their successes will lead to an\u00a0improved economy and will fuel an active research community here in Canada and internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Alberta to have first of its kind in Canada https:\/\/www.ualberta.ca\/science\/science-news\/2017\/august\/new-equipment-maps-brain-activity-and-blood-flow-in-neuroscience-lab By Katie Willis on August 23, 2017 Neuroscientist Kyle Mathewson is pictured here wearing the new optical imaging equipment, called Imagent. Using lasers and photodetectors, a new optical brain-imaging tool is providing a never-before-seen look inside your head. The non-invasive tool projects and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “New equipment maps brain activity and blood flow in state-of-the-art neuroscience lab”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.psych.ualberta.ca\/kylemathewson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}