National Antivisection Society
2004-05 Brain Research - LDF neuroscience facility
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is important in the development of research into mental health disorders. The technique enables visualisation of brain cortex function, in response to physical tasks, by detecting an increased flow of oxygenated blood in areas of nerve activity. The LDF grant will cover the full running costs for the new Siemens Trio 3-tesla MRI system. This system is rapid and has a high sensitivity to the changes in blood oxygen that form the basis of fMRI.
The World Health Organisation has predicted a surge in mental and neurological illnesses over the next 20 years. Animal researchers have seen this as a reason to increase experiments on non-human primates – as evidenced by the attempt by Cambridge University to build a huge monkey laboratory. The UK already experiments on more monkeys than any other country in Europe, yet by contrast, the commitment to modern, innovative non-animal research is poor. It took 15 years to secure the funding for the MEG brain imaging facility at Aston University, which is the only one of its kind in the country. In comparison, Japan has around 20 MEG laboratories.
The LDF will be supporting the new Aston facility from 2005 until at least the end of the decade.
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