Editing Behavioral neuroscience (section)

=== Measuring neural activity ===
* Optical techniques – Optical methods for recording neuronal activity rely on methods that modify the optical properties of neurons in response to the cellular events associated with action potentials or neurotransmitter release.
**[[Voltage sensitive dyes]] (VSDs) were among the earliest method for optically detecting neuronal activity. VSDs commonly changed their fluorescent properties in response to a voltage change across the neuron's membrane, rendering membrane sub-threshold and supra-threshold (action potentials) electrical activity detectable.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/0301-0082(95)00010-S| title=Use of voltage-sensitive dyes and optical recordings in the central nervous system| year=1995| last1=Ebner| first1=Timothy J.| last2=Chen| first2=Gang| journal=Progress in Neurobiology| volume=46| issue=5| pages=463–506| pmid=8532849| s2cid=17187595}}</ref> Genetically encoded voltage sensitive fluorescent proteins have also been developed.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80955-1| title=A Genetically Encoded Optical Probe of Membrane Voltage| year=1997| last1=Siegel| first1=Micah S.| last2=Isacoff| first2=Ehud Y.| journal=Neuron| volume=19| issue=4| pages=735–741| pmid=9354320| s2cid=11447982| doi-access=free}}</ref>
** [[Calcium imaging]] relies on dyes<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/0165-0270(93)90145-H| title=Real-time imaging of neurons retrogradely and anterogradely labelled with calcium-sensitive dyes| year=1993| last1=O'Donovan| first1=Michael J.| last2=Ho| first2=Stephen| last3=Sholomenko| first3=Gerald| last4=Yee| first4=Wayne| journal=Journal of Neuroscience Methods| volume=46| issue=2| pages=91–106| pmid=8474261| s2cid=13373078}}</ref> or genetically encoded proteins<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1074/jbc.M312751200| title=Genetically Encoded Indicators of Cellular Calcium Dynamics Based on Troponin C and Green Fluorescent Protein| year=2004| last1=Heim| first1=Nicola| last2=Griesbeck| first2=Oliver| journal=Journal of Biological Chemistry| volume=279| issue=14| pages=14280–14286| pmid=14742421| doi-access=free}}</ref> that fluoresce upon binding to the calcium that is transiently present during an action potential.
** [[Synapto-pHluorin]] is a technique that relies on a [[fusion protein]] that combines a synaptic vesicle membrane protein and a pH sensitive fluorescent protein. Upon synaptic vesicle release, the chimeric protein is exposed to the higher pH of the synaptic cleft, causing a measurable change in fluorescence.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1038/28190| title=Visualizing secretion and synaptic transmission with pH-sensitive green fluorescent proteins| year=1998| last1=Miesenböck| first1=Gero| last2=De Angelis| first2=Dino A.| last3=Rothman| first3=James E.| journal=Nature| volume=394| issue=6689| pages=192–195| pmid=9671304| bibcode=1998Natur.394..192M| s2cid=4320849}}</ref>
* [[Single-unit recording]] – A method whereby an electrode is introduced into the brain of a living animal to detect electrical activity that is generated by the neurons adjacent to the electrode tip. Normally this is performed with sedated animals but sometimes it is performed on awake animals engaged in a behavioral event, such as a thirsty rat whisking a particular sandpaper grade previously paired with water in order to measure the corresponding patterns of neuronal firing at the decision point.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050305|title = Neuronal Activity in Rat Barrel Cortex Underlying Texture Discrimination|year = 2007|last1 = von Heimendahl|first1 = Moritz|last2 = Itskov|first2 = Pavel M.|last3 = Arabzadeh|first3 = Ehsan|last4 = Diamond|first4 = Mathew E.|journal = PLOS Biology|volume = 5|issue = 11|pages = e305|pmid = 18001152|pmc = 2071938 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
* Multielectrode recording – The use of a bundle of fine electrodes to record the simultaneous activity of up to hundreds of neurons.
* [[Functional magnetic resonance imaging]] – fMRI, a technique most frequently applied on human subjects, in which changes in cerebral blood flow can be detected in an [[MRI]] apparatus and are taken to indicate relative activity of larger scale brain regions (i.e., on the order of hundreds of thousands of neurons).
*[[File:PET - Human Addiction.jpg|thumb|PET brain scans can show chemical differences in the brain between addicts and non-addicts. The normal images in the bottom row come from non-addicts while people with addictions have scans that look more abnormal.]][[Positron emission tomography]] - PET detects particles called photons using a 3-D nuclear medicine examination. These particles are emitted by injections of radioisotopes such as fluorine. PET imaging reveal the pathological processes which predict anatomic changes making it important for detecting, diagnosing and characterising many pathologies.<ref>{{Cite journal |pmid = 25835405|year = 2015|last1 = Ocampo|first1 = T.|last2 = Knight|first2 = K.|last3 = Dunleavy|first3 = R.|last4 = Shah|first4 = S. N.|title = Techniques, benefits, and challenges of PET-MR|journal = Radiologic Technology|volume = 86|issue = 4|pages = 393–412; quiz 413–6}}</ref>
* [[Electroencephalography]] – EEG, and the derivative technique of [[event-related potential]]s, in which scalp electrodes monitor the average activity of neurons in the cortex (again, used most frequently with human subjects). This technique uses different types of electrodes for recording systems such as needle electrodes and saline-based electrodes. EEG allows for the investigation of mental disorders, sleep disorders and physiology. It can monitor brain development and cognitive engagement.<ref>Sanei, S., & Chambers, J. A. (2013). EEG signal processing. John Wiley & Sons.</ref>
* Functional neuroanatomy – A more complex counterpart of [[phrenology]]. The expression of some anatomical marker is taken to reflect neural activity. For example, the expression of [[immediate early genes]] is thought to be caused by vigorous neural activity. Likewise, the injection of [[2-deoxyglucose]] prior to some behavioral task can be followed by anatomical localization of that chemical; it is taken up by neurons that are electrically active.
* [[Magnetoencephalography]] – MEG shows the functioning of the human brain through the measurement of electromagnetic activity. Measuring the magnetic fields created by the electric current flowing within the neurons identifies brain activity associated with various human functions in real time, with millimeter spatial accuracy. Clinicians can noninvasively obtain data to help them assess neurological disorders and plan surgical treatments.