Looking Inside Our Heads: How AI Helps Us Understand How the Brain Grows

The adult human brain is one of the most complex structures in the universe, made up of around 100 billion neurons connected in intricate networks. However, every one of us begins life with an astonishingly simple brain: during pregnancy, it is a small, five‑chamber structure that must rapidly grow, fold, and reorganise itself into the brain we recognise.

In this lecture, I’ll take you on a journey through early brain development, from its earliest beginnings in the womb to the rapid growth of the first years of life. We’ll explore how we can safely look inside the pregnant belly and the human skull using ultrasound and MRI, and how AI can be used to uncover subtle details in these images, which helps us track how the brain grows and changes over time.

(Foto: Shutterstock)