Brain Activity Analysis
Brain Activity Analysis - Related Videos
08:14
Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience
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Cited by 6 •
2014
This manuscript describes a protocol that applies comprehensive profiling for analysis of transcriptional programs induced in specific brain nuclei of rodents following behavioral paradigms. Herein, this approach is illustrated in the context of profiling genes induced in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of mice following acute cocaine exposure, utilizing microfluidic qPCR arrays.
08:37
Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) and Gene Expression Analysis of Fos-expressing Neurons from Fresh and Frozen Rat Brain Tissue
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Cited by 34 •
2016
Here we present a Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) protocol to study molecular alterations in Fos-expressing neuronal ensembles from both fresh and frozen brain tissue. The use of frozen tissue allows FACS isolation of many brain areas over multiple sessions to maximize the use of valuable animal subjects.
04:10
Measuring Proteasome Activity in Different Subcellular Compartments of the Rat Brain
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2025
This video demonstrates how to measure proteasome activity in different subcellular compartments of the lateral amygdala from fear-conditioned and control rat brains using a fluorogenic peptide assay. The proteasome cleaves the fluorogenic peptide substrate, releasing fluorescent molecules, which are quantified using a plate reader to assess proteasome activity in the nuclear and synaptic protein fractions. Increased nuclear activity suggests changes in gene expression, while reduced synaptic...
04:44
Processing of a Mouse Brain for Downstream Analysis
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2025
This video demonstrates a detailed step-by-step protocol for preparing frozen mouse brain tissue sections for downstream analyses.
10:07
Using Fiberless, Wearable fNIRS to Monitor Brain Activity in Real-world Cognitive Tasks
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Cited by 162 •
2015
Monitoring brain activity outside the lab without physical constraints presents methodological challenges. A fiberless, wearable functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) system was used to measure brain activity during an ecological prospective memory task. It was demonstrated that this system could be used to monitor brain activity during non-lab based experiments.
FAQs
These methods do not measure the same feature of neural function. EEG detects electrical activity, whereas fMRI tracks changes in blood oxygenation and PET tracks related metabolic changes. Comparing these signals helps investigators interpret neural function from complementary perspectives rather than treating one measurement as a complete account of brain activity.
Combining techniques can strengthen interpretation because electrical activity, blood oxygenation, metabolism, and network connectivity provide related but distinct views of brain function. A multimethod approach can improve understanding of both where activity is associated with brain regions and how dynamic processes unfold over time, supporting a more complete account than any single measurement alone.
Network connectivity shifts attention from isolated regions to patterns of communication among them. By examining how brain regions relate during a task or at rest, researchers can connect neural coordination with cognition, behavior, and disease. This perspective is especially useful when the research question concerns interactions across the brain rather than activity in one location.
Task-based measurements show how neural function relates to an active demand, such as learning or perception, while resting measurements provide information about brain organization without a specified task. Comparing these conditions can help researchers distinguish activity associated with a particular behavior from broader patterns of communication, cognition, or neurological dysfunction.
A study typically links a research question to a measurable aspect of neural function, selects a technique that can detect electrical activity, blood oxygenation, metabolism, or connectivity, and collects measurements during a task or at rest. Researchers then interpret changes in relation to behavior, cognition, brain-region communication, or disease-related questions.
Measurements of neural function can reveal changes associated with neurological disorders and help investigators relate those changes to brain communication, cognition, or behavior. The resulting evidence may support the development of diagnostic tools and treatments. Using complementary measurements can provide broader information when disorder-related changes involve both regional function and network-level processes.