N-medicine to pinpoint happiness zone

CHANDIGARH: A breakthrough by all standards in the effervescent field of medical science, nuclear medicine is now being used to unravel the mysteries of human brain. Nuclear medicine is traditionally used for diagnostic purposes so far.
An integral part of an international collaborative research being carried out across continents, a team of three senior scientists from Parel-based Radiation Medicine Centre is using nuclear medicine to carry out neurological and psychological research.Simply put, they are trying to zero in on different parts of the brain which generate our day-to-day feelings and emotions. The Radiation Medicine Centre functions under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) of the Central government.
Speaking to Times News Network at the 91st session of the Indian Science Congress being hosted at Panjab University on Sunday, Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra, head of DAE''s public awareness division, said, "Till now we had no idea as to which specific portion of the brain is responsible for generating specific emotions.
Though nuclear medicine is used only for diagnosis of diseases, especially cancer, it is being used in an international collaborative research to pin point the exact location of the different portions of the brain which generate specific emotions. Three of our doctors at the Radiation Medicine Centre in Parel are involved with research project."
Explaining the way the research is being conducted, he said, "Glucose labelled with a radio-isotope is injected into a person''s blood which travels to the brain and gets equally distributed there if a person is in a normal state of mind.
This information is recorded through gamma camera positioned outside the brain which shows the equal distribution of glucose. However, if a person complains of fearful sleep and feels afraid on seeing a dream, a specific portion of the brain secretes glucose as the tissue becomes hyperactive. The radiation coming out of the specific portion gets recorded in the camera and scientists are able to decipher which portion of the brain is producing that emotion.
Raw results show that fear is generated from back portion of the brain." Similarly, scientists are trying to find the exact location of the portion of the brain which produces emotions when a person is happy, pensive or sexually excited.