A team led by Dr. Tonio Ball from the Bernstein Center Freiburg and the Cluster of Excellence “BrainLinks-BrainTools” from the University of Freiburg has examined six healthy volunteers using a 7 tesla magnetic resonance tomograph. This type of tomograph produces a stronger magnetic field than devices usually used in hospitals.

The scientists found that the boundary between the amygdala and the hippocampus was differed notably between individuals and between the left and right hemispheres of the brain in each person. They suspect that these variations could also be responsible for differences in personality.

The research team believes that these brain structures must be accurately charted when examining persons with regard to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders. In order to avoid misdiagnosis, this area must be measured individually in each patient.

The scientists have published their results in the scientific journal “Human Brain Mapping”.

Original publication :
Derix, J., Yang, S., Lüsebrink, F., Fiederer, LDJ, Schulze- Bonhage, A., Aertsen, A., Speck, O. and Ball, T. (2014): Visualization of the amygdalo - hippocampal border and its structural variability by 7T and 3T magnetic resonance imaging. Hum. Brain Mapp. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22477

Source (in German):
http://www.innovations-report.de/