Researchers have develop a details functional map of the brain by studying brain activity in people watching movie clips in a significant advancement in neuroscience. Conduct by neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and publish on November 6 in Neuron, the study use fMRI scans to observe how different brain networks respond to various film scenes.
Clips from independent and popular Hollywood films, including Inception and The Social Network, were shown to participants, revealing how brain areas engage differently when processing scenes featuring people, objects, dialogue, and action.
The study was publish in Neuron.
Dr Reza Rajimehr, neuroscientist and lead author from MIT, emphasise the study’s unique approach, noting how it highlights the brain’s organisation in more realistic settings.
As, brain function research has based on scans during resting states, limiting understanding of how complex external stimuli impact brain activity.
By analysing responses to films, the research offers a broader view of how specific networks activate in response to varied audio-visual elements.
Rajimehr and his team apply machine learning to data from the Human Connectome Project, involving 176 participants who watched one-hour film compilations.
Researchers highlight 24 distinct brain networks related to sensory or cognitive processing, such as recognising faces, movements, and social interactions.
Activity varied depending on the scene’s content, particularly when switching between straightforward dialogue and more ambiguous sequences.
The study identified how executive control regions—brain areas involve in planning and prioritising information became more active during scenes that require greater cognitive engagement.
Such as clear conversations, saw height language-processing activity and complex sequences activate executive domains to interpret context and semantic details.
Researchers suggest that future studies might explore individual brain response variations, considering factors like age or mental health.
Dr Reza Rajimehr said that the findings can open doors to mapping how specific film content, including social cues and narrative context, drives activity in different networks.
This research gives an initial framework for deeper studies into personalised brain mapping based on content-driven stimuli.
