Skip to main content

How do we study living brains? - John Borghi and Elizabeth Waters

500,468 Views

9,554 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

As far as we know, there’s only one thing in our solar system sophisticated enough to study itself: the human brain. But this self-investigation is challenging because a living brain is shielded by skull, swaddled in tissue, and made up of billions of tiny cells. How do we study living brains without harming their owners? Elizabeth Waters and John Borghi explain how EEGs, fMRIs, and PETs work.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator John Borghi, Elizabeth Waters
  • Director Joash Berkeley
  • Script Editor Eleanor Nelsen
  • Senior Animator Joash Berkeley
  • Animator Eli Guillou, Leonardo G. Franchi, Jonas Elsgaard
  • Designer Joash Berkeley
  • Music Qbsound Studio
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott, Elizabeth Cox
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Susan Zimmerman
  • Fact-Checker Francisco Diez

More from Getting Under Our Skin