User:Mwillis2018/sandbox

Research
The Human Connectome Project has grown into a large group of research teams. These teams make use of the style of brain scanning developed by the Project. The studies usually include using large groups of participants, scanning many angles of participants' brains, and carefully documenting the location of the structures in each participant's brain. Studies affiliated with the Human Connectome Project are currently cataloged by the Connectome Coordination Facility. The studies fall into one of three categories: Healthy Adult Connectomes, Lifespan Connectome Data, and Connectomes Related to Human Disease. Under each of these categories are research groups working on specific questions.

Healthy Adult Connectomes
The Human Connectome Project Young Adult study made data on the brain connections of 1100 healthy young adults available to the scientific community. Scientists have used data from the study to support theories about which areas of the brain communicate with one another. For example, one study used data from the project to show that the amygdala, a part of the brain essential for emotional processing, is connected to the parts of the brain that receive information from the senses and plan movement. Another study showed that healthy individuals who had a high tendency to experience anxious or depressed mood had fewer connections between the amygdala and a number of brain areas related to attention.

Lifespan Connectome Data
There are currently four research groups collecting data on connections in the brains of populations other than young adults. The purpose of these groups is to determine ordinary brain connectivity during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and aging. Scientists will use the data from these research groups in the same manner in which they have used data from the Human Connectome Project Young Adult study.

Connectomes Related to Human Disease
Fourteen research groups investigate how connections in the brain change during the course of a particular disease. Four of the groups focus on Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. Alzheimer's Disease and dementia are diseases that begin during aging. Memory loss and cognitive impairment mark the progression of these diseases. While scientists consider Alzheimer's Disease to be a disease with a specific cause, dementia actually describes symptoms which could be attributed to a number of causes. Two of the research groups investigate how diseases that disrupt vision change connectivity in the brain. Another four of the research groups focus on anxiety disorders and Major Depressive Disorder, psychological disorders that result in abnormal emotional regulation. Two more of the research groups focus on the effects of psychosis, a symptom of some psychological disorders in which an individual perceives reality differently than others do. One of the teams researches epilepsy, a disease characterized by seizures. Finally, one research team is documenting the brain connections of the Amish people, a religious and ethnic group that has high rates of some psychological disorders.

Although theories have been put forth about the way brain connections change in the diseases under investigation, many of these theories have been supported by data from healthy populations. For example, an analysis of the brains of healthy individuals supported the theory that individuals with anxiety disorders and depression have less connectivity between their emotional centers and the areas that govern attention. By collecting data specifically from individuals with these diseases, researchers hope to have a more certain idea of how brain connections in these individuals change over time.