Life Sciences Division

NeuroSpin is the world's largest brain exploration research facility. The documentary takes us into this high-field neuroimaging centre, the only one of its kind in Europe, which is based at CEA Saclay. The most cutting-edge magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment enables painless, non-invasive exploration of the internal structures of the skull, providing 'live' images of the functioning human brain at unprecedented resolutions.
"Using imaging to understand the brain" also aims to deliver insights into how dyslexia works and the development of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

During our visit, we meet some of the scientists working on the various research programmes at NeuroSpin. These include Ghislaine Dehaene, who is conducting experiments on brain development in newborns and infants at the cognitive neuroimaging laboratory, and Christophe Pallier, a researcher with a passionate interest in the processes underpinning how the brain decodes language and music. To round off our visit, the philosopher Vincent Bontems invites us to reflect on the significance of these scientific images as a product of science itself.

With:

• Denis Le Bihan, Head of NeuroSpin;
• Jean-Francois Mangin, Director of Research and Head of the Computer-assisted Neuroimaging Laboratory;
• Ghislaine Dehaene, paediatrician and Research Director at CNRS, leader of the "Developmental Neuroimaging" team;
• Christophe Pallier, leader of the "Language Neuroimaging" team at the INSERM-CEA cognitive neuroimaging unit based at the NeuroSpin centre;
• Emmanuel Brouillet, Head of the Neurodegenerative Disorders Laboratory at the CEA;
• Marc Dhenain, Head of the "Alzheimer's Disease: modelling, biomarkers, preclinical imaging" team at the CEA;
• Vincent Bontems, philosopher at the CEA.

Produced by: Lucie Sarfaty
Directed by: Guillaume Baldy

Listen to the show at: http://www.franceculture.com/emission-sur-les-docks-au-coeur-de-la-recherche-44-voir-le-cerveau-penser-la-recherche-a-neurospin-2