How is the brain formed?

There are still many mysteries surrounding the human brain, but the most important of them is how it was formed and how it affects a person’s future life in the first few weeks

Upcoming research at Binghamton University and Harvard Medical School will use computer modeling and advanced imaging of fetal brain development to try to answer some long-standing questions

The National Science Foundation's Biomechanics and Mechanobiology Program recently approved a $587,853 grant to better understand the unique growth and folding of each human brain

Mir Jalil Razavi, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Thomas J.

Razavi first became interested in brain research in 2014, when he received his Ph.

Razavi said: "An important topic about soft biological tissue is the brain

When he came to Binghamton in 2018, Razavi focused on the mechanics of human skin and conducted research with Associate Professor Guy German from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Watson College

For this fund project, he hopes to analyze the formation of brain folds, which form fast-growing gray matter (made by the outer layer of advanced thinking) and growing white matter (the inner layer communicates between different gray matter regions and the gray matter and the rest of the body)

There are about 100 billion neurons in the human brain.

Razavi said: "From a biological point of view, we do not understand the underlying mechanism, but we can say from a mechanical point of view that we have wrinkles because we do not match the growth rate of the layers

Gholipour, director of translational radiology research at Harvard Medical School, used standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and brain-specific diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to scan 50 fetuses at 25 and 36 weeks.

Razavi said: "Professor Gholipour and his team have the most accurate MRI and DTI of the fetal brain

The researchers compared the brain development and folding of the 50 fetuses with Razawi's computer model to determine whether the expected pattern matches the actual situation

"If we are accurate, then the results should be similar

Razavi believes that this research is the beginning of understanding some brain diseases, such as autism, schizophrenia, and multiple gyrus (the brain has many ridges or folds)

"I think it will take us a long time to decipher the mysteries of the brain because it cannot be compared with other organs