Capturing the Brain’s Unique Signature and Its Sensitivity to Lifestyle Factors
Featured in The Guardian, Stylist, ITV News, and Sifted for pioneering the next frontier in preventative brain care, we’re on an exciting growth journey — and YOU can be part of it. This year, we’re launching our first brain scanning site in London, UK, but that’s just the beginning. As we scale, we want YOU, our community, to grow with us.
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The Power of MEG in Brain Mapping
We routinely get check-ups for our bodies, monitoring our heart health, weight, and teeth - but what about our brain? How can you understand how your brain is functioning if you’ve never measured it? What if there was a way to see how your daily habits shape your brain activity?
MEG is a tool that does just that. Unlike other brain scans, MEG is completely safe, non-invasive, and doesn’t expose you to radiation. It captures the brain’s natural electrical activity with extreme precision, creating a personal “brain fingerprint” that is as unique as you are.
More than just a tool for scientists, MEG can be incredibly valuable for everyday people looking to learn more about how their brain works. Whether you're managing stress, adopting a new workout routine, adjusting your diet, or starting a new therapy, MEG provides objective data to track positive changes in brain function over time.
Let’s explore ways our actual clients have used our scans and how it can help support a proactive approach to brain health.
Case Study 1: Identifying Unique Brain Signatures with MEG
Think of your brain like a fingerprint—completely unique to you. MEG helps map out this distinctive pattern by analyzing different types of brain waves, including theta (linked to relaxation), alpha (associated with focus), and beta (connected to active thinking).
Each person has a stable and distinct brain activity pattern, much like a neural fingerprint. Understanding this unique signature allows for a personalized insight into how your brain functions under normal conditions and how external factors influence cognitive performance over time. MEG lets you visualize shifts, giving you data-driven insights into what’s working (and perhaps what’s not) when it comes to optimizing your brain health.
Perhaps you’ve noticed changes in memory, focus, or stress levels—MEG can reveal whether these are normal fluctuations or if further attention may be needed. In essence, MEG can act as a guide, empowering you to make informed decisions about lifestyle, wellness, and potential medical interventions when necessary.
Just as no two fingerprints are the same, neither are brain activity patterns - as demonstrated by the variations observed across different individuals - 3 different people, 3 different “norms”.
Case Study 2: The Impact of Stress on Brain Function
We all experience stress, and it can affect brain activity. MEG scans have shown that periods of high stress can temporarily alter communication between different brain regions, which may influence focus, emotional balance, and energy levels.
Tracking an individual under high levels of stress revealed a decrease in functional connectivity across key brain networks, including the central executive network, the default mode network, and the visual network, compared to their baseline scan. These disruptions can make everyday tasks feel more overwhelming and contribute to mental fatigue.
One powerful aspect of MEG is that it can even detect changes in your heart rate variability (HRV) through brain activity—without needing a separate heart monitor! Lower HRV is a sign of stress overload, while higher HRV indicates resilience and relaxation. By measuring brain activity and HRV at the same time, MEG can provide a holistic picture of mind-body balance, all without requiring additional heart rate monitors.
Case Study 3: Meditation and Its Neurophysiological Effects
Meditation is widely recognized for its ability to promote relaxation and mindfulness. With MEG, we can actually see the physiological changes that take place in the brain due to consistent meditation practice.
A baseline MEG scan was taken before an individual began practicing meditation, followed by another scan after they had developed a regular mindfulness routine and were meditating during the scan. The results showed a significant increase in theta power, a brainwave frequency associated with deep relaxation and heightened awareness. This shift provides clear evidence of meditation’s impact on brain function over time.
MEG not only detects these changes but also shows how different brain regions become more or less active. For this individual, seeing the difference validated their meditation practice and reinforced its benefits.
This underscores MEG’s potential in guiding personalized wellness strategies and demonstrating the powerful effects of meditation on brain health and overall well-being.
The darker the colour, the higher the amount of theta activity in that area of the brain.
The Future of MEG in Personalized Brain Health
Your brain is unique—shouldn’t your approach to brain health be just as personalized?
MEG isn’t just for those who suspect a problem—it’s for anyone who values their cognitive well-being and wants to take a proactive approach to brain health. Just as you wouldn’t wait for a health issue before monitoring your heart, you don’t have to wait for noticeable changes before assessing your brain function.
The sensitivity of MEG to individual differences and lifestyle factors highlights its potential as a transformative tool in neuroscience and mental health care. By capturing unique neural signatures and tracking changes over time, MEG can guide personalized interventions, whether for stress management, or optimization of therapies or treatments. As research advances, MEG is poised to transform our understanding of brain health, providing a highly individualized approach.
MYndspan does not provide medical advice and MYndspan scans and analysis are not intended to be use to identify the presence or absence of a clinical diagnosis. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting any treatment program.