Certain brain areas are active when we think about the future

Brain scans have given US scientists a clue about how we create a mental image of our own future.

The Washington University team say that specific areas of the brain are active when thinking about upcoming events.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study could help doctors trying to understand damage inflicted by strokes, injuries or diseases.

The findings tally with damage spotted in the brains of patients who have lost the ability to 'think ahead'.

Much of our everyday thought depends on our ability to see ourselves partaking in future events Washington University Researchers

The brain remains the most poorly understood organ of the body, but the use of MRI scans to examine the way they work has taken off in recent years.

When patients or volunteers are placed in the functional MRI scanner and asked to think or move in a particular way, specific areas of the brain 'light up' on the scan image, corresponding with increased electrical activity in those regions.

The technique has developed to the extent that scientists can almost know what patients are thinking about simply by looking at the brain areas they are using.

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