Behind the Scenes: Using Movies to Study the Human Brain

What happens inside your brain when you watch your favorite movie? Maybe you wonder what the character thinks or wants to do next? Since characters in movies often act like we do in real life, scientists can use movies as “experiments” to study how our brains work. In this article, you will learn about how scientists have examined people’s brains, using a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while the people were watching movies. These experiments help researchers learn about what different parts of the brain do and how brain regions work together in both adults and young children. Movie fMRI experiments have made it more fun to take part in studies and have helped researchers learn how the brain works in “real life” as well as in people who find it hard to take part in other types of fMRI experiments.