Dr. Ganjbakhsh's New Research: A Novel Method for Diagnosing and Treating Neurological Disorders in Children

The goal of the brain and its relationship with the mind is a complex topic that has always engaged the minds of scientists and thinkers. The image presented in medical textbooks about the brain refers to the theory known as the 'little man' proposed in the 1930s by Wilder Penfield, which states that each part of the brain's cortex is responsible for commanding a part of the body. Dr. Amirhossein Ganjbakhsh, head of the Biophotonics section at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), told Voice of America that new brain imaging methods have challenged this theory and identified parts of the brain associated with the mind. He and a group of other scientists at this institute have examined the relationship between performing an action and observing that action through a multifaceted approach. They use simultaneous recordings of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) - measuring part of the brain's function associated with specific mental responses - and electroencephalography (EEG). They have been able to simultaneously and live record neural activities during motor execution (ME), movement observation (MO), and motor imagery (MI). Motor imagery (MI) involves planning to perform a movement while suppressing overt movements, thereby engaging the network of nerves involved in executing the movement itself. On the other hand, observing a movement (MO) also elicits similar neural activity to executing that movement (ME), allowing the observer to understand the motor goal they are observing. Although the neural mechanisms of these three are common, their levels of activation differ. Therefore, using different educational methods can effectively change the learning pathway through observation. Dr. Ganjbakhsh and his team previously demonstrated the existence of networks known as 'mirror neurons' using this combined method and identified their main center. This network activates when a person performs an action or witnesses it, mirroring and responding to the behaviors of others like a 'mirror.' Dr. Ganjbakhsh told Voice of America, 'In our new research, we were able to identify a new part of this network and indicate a point in the brain that activates when performing an action, observing it by another, and then closing the eyes and thinking about that action.' Since observation is one of the most important learning tools in children, Dr. Ganjbakhsh says the new findings could pave the way for diagnosing and treating neurological disorders, especially in children. Dr. Amirhossein Ganjbakhsh states that other similar research has been conducted at the National Institutes of Health regarding the mind-brain connection. This research was conducted by several scientists at Washington University in St. Louis. They discovered that parts of the brain area known as the motor cortex, which controls body movements, are linked to a network associated with thinking, planning, mental arousal, pain, and control of internal organs, as well as functions like blood pressure and heart rate. This group identified a previously unknown system in the motor cortex of the brain that appears as multiple nodes between areas of the brain responsible for moving specific parts of the body, such as the hands, legs, and face. They engage when different parts of the body begin to move simultaneously. Researchers named this system the sensory-motor action network or 'scan' and identified its connections with brain areas responsible for goal-setting and planning. It has also been shown that this network is connected to areas of the brain linked to internal organs, including the stomach and adrenal glands, allowing them to change their activity levels in response to a specific action to be performed. This explanation could account for physical reactions like sweating or increased heart rate due to thinking about a difficult task. Ivan Gordon, a professor of radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the lead author of this research paper, explained to Reuters: 'One system is for moving your hands, feet, and face, which are important for writing or speaking and only need to engage one part of the body. The second system or scan is for integrated movements of the whole body and is more related to areas of the brain specialized for high-level planning.' The 'scan' was identified using precise brain imaging in seven adults to examine the brain's organizational features and was then matched with a larger dataset including thousands of adults. The findings showed that the 'scan' is identifiable in an 11-month-old child and a 9-year-old child but has not yet developed in a newborn.