I Got To See And Hold My Brain

We're all used to seeing MRI scans of brains. But how do they work? Can you really "see" brain activity, or read someone's mind? Alie and Micah from Neuro Transmissions went to get scanned -- and ended up having some fun with 3D printing, too.

[neurotransmissions]

Thanks again Tom for hosting us. We had a LOT of fun doing this! Tbh though, it was a nice excuse to show off our huge brains. :) And thanks everyone for watching! We’ll be monitoring the comments, so feel free to ask us anything!


Also, it wasn’t intentional, but perhaps a subconscious desire for Micah to wear a red(ish) t-shirt in this video.

[Ampluvr]

I used to think that the human brain was the most wonderful and interesting organ of the human body. Then I realized who was telling me that...

[Legalisenuclearbombs]

Doctor: This is your brain

Me: Wtf put it back

[TomScottGo]

Thanks Alie, thanks Micah - and thanks to all the folks who've helped me take a break this January! That's it for this run of guest videos: I'm back as usual next week.

[morn]

The brain is the only organ that named itself.

[ScopeofScience]

I imagine showing this video to someone 100 years ago.. And they'd be all like "Color video!? Internet!? Brain Scans?! 3D Printers?! Ah, subscribing - that I can do... here's my mailing address"

[ieatdeadrats]

Hey Vsause Michael here, I'm going to hold my brain

[TakeruDavis]

I would probably try to inverse the model and make it a mold, which I could fill with some opaque jello. Then on Halloween, "Would you like a piece of my brain? Yeah, it's actually shaped exactly like my brain. Hey, why are you backing away? Why are you leaving?"

[MathieuBoudreauPhD]

4:46 Small note: the "clangs and beeps" aren't the radio waves being fired off - they're caused by the magnetic field gradients being turned on and off, which induce Eddy currents in the metallic components of the MRI, and the vibrations caused by the forces of these Eddy currents are what causes the sound.

[luongmaihunggia]

Wait, I thought we're going to see what Tom Scott's brain looks like.

[stemcell]

I tried this but my brain came out as a cube, is that normal?

[KarolaTea]

Sometimes I wonder... like.. how did scientists think "oh let's just put someone in a massively strong magnet & play some weird loud sounds & then monitor their brain with very specific equipment". It's just... thank you science people, you are amazing. And scientist's brains!

[marsgal]

A few years ago I had a CAT scan and when I asked if I could get a copy of the pictures the hospital people said sure, come back at the end of the month (October). So I did, and it seemed somehow appropriate on Hallowe'en to ask people "wanna see my brain?"

[NewbyTon]

When you hold and see your brain in your hands, the nerves make you feel the brain and see the brain in your hands to your brain.
So basically your brain is inside your brain

[Trogdor]

To a chemist, MRI is basically a bigger version of what we call NMR spectroscopy and they work almost exactly the same. In NMR, we put chemical samples in a tube to analyze; in an MRI, the *you're* the sample. NMR is also the older technique, so why do we call them MRI's then? Because people are dumb and the N in NMR scares them away: nuclear (as in the nucleus, not the type of energy production).

[losthorzon]

Nice that you got a copy of your brains. Not everyone has a spare.
And when one of you needs to give someone a piece of your mind...

[fevsea]

I would actually pay for a model of my brain. That seems a great business opportunity!

[seCkielrd]

Hope you enjoyed your holiday, standing by the lake for a month

[saser]

Ahh.. This is wierd, i always forget im watching a tom scott video, so i get caught off guard when the end card comes.

[Lugmillord]

Oh, so that's why there are these awful noises! I thought they "just happen", when the magnet is doing its thing, but I didn't think it had a purpose on its own. ...still not my taste of music.
And I definitely noticed that Wii U standing prominently in the back.