Unraveling the
complex routes that power our brain

Problem

Brain tumors and diseases like cancer are complex—and invasive—to treat because the blood-brain barrier blocks many therapies from reaching affected tissue. Macrophages—immune cells that should fight disease—often remain in an inactive “healing” state that can actually cause cancer cells to grow. 

Solution

A Northeastern research group led by Assistant Professor of Psychology Stephanie Noble develops algorithmic tools that make fMRI brain scans more accurate. The tools identify and filter out extraneous environmental “noise,” including artifactual signals from within the body, that can drown out the signals that clinicians are looking for among the billions of neurotransmitter molecules.