Scientists have worked for many years to unravel the complex workings of the brain. Their research efforts have greatly improved our understanding of brain function. During the past decade alone, scientific and technical progress in all fields of brain research has been astonishing. Using new imaging techniques, scientists can visualise the human brain in action. Images produced by these techniques have defined brain regions responsible for attention, memory, and emotion. A series of discoveries (in multiple fields of study) has displaced the long-standing assumption that brain cells are stable and unchanging. Amazingly, new findings show that some adult brain cells can divide and grow! Also, advances in research are allowing scientists to analyse and make progress toward understanding the causes of inherited brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Taken together, these discoveries provide hope for the recovery of nervous system function lost through injury or disease.

Despite these and other significant advances in the field of brain research, most of the processes responsible for the integrated functioning of billions of brain cells remain a mystery. Research on the brain in the new millennium is crucial to our effort to come to a complete understanding of this fascinating organ. In turn, improved understanding makes the development of new treatment options possible. Research continues to bring new insights into how the brain is put together, how it works, and whether damage to the brain can be reversed.