Mapping the functions of the brain:

Dr. David Clarke and Dr. Gail Eskes lead team to make brain surgery safer 

A team of Dalhousie researchers is pushing the boundaries of MRI technology to make brain surgery safer. The researchers are using what’s known as ‘functional magnetic resonance imaging’ (fMRI) to produce maps showing what areas of a person’s brain are firing during such activities as speaking, reading, and moving their hands.

“We’ll be able to use these maps to guide us in the operating room,” says Dr. David Clarke, a neurosurgeon and associate professor in the departments of Surgery and Anatomy & Neurobiology. “A tumour, for example, displaces brain tissue and can move the area normally responsible for language to a different, unpredictable location. The fMRI maps will tell us the best way to approach a tumour, to remove it without disrupting critical brain functions.”

The researchers are working primarily with brain tumour patients initially, where the location of the problem is well defined. But they are rigourously testing the technique to see if it could also be used to guide surgery for epilepsy, assess post-stroke damage, and other applications.

“After the tumour-removal surgeries, it is important to conduct neuro-psychological testing with the patients, to assess how well we were able to define the functional areas of their brains,” says Dr. Gail Eskes, associate professor in the departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology. “Once we know we can use the technique with confidence, we can extend it to new uses. And apart from guiding the surgeon during the operation, it offers a more educated way to discuss surgery risks with patients beforehand.”

“With these maps, we’ll be able to perform operations we previously couldn’t safely undertake,” says Dr. Clarke. “For some people, the benefits of this will be life-changing.”