The ‘wiring’ in your brain is so unique that you can be recognized by it.

In the 17th century, Italian physician Marcello Malpighi discovered the existence of unique signature patterns and hand lines on the fingertips. This was a groundbreaking breakthrough that led to a long and ongoing search for ways to uniquely identify individuals based on fingerprints. But it’s not just the lines on our fingertips that are all a little different. The brain is also unique to everyone in the world. And to such an extent that you can even be recognized by it.

brain print

Several years ago, neuroscientists already found interesting indications that each of us has a unique ‘brain print’. “By comparing graphs generated from MRI scans of subjects, they were able to correctly identify a particular individual 95 percent of the time,” said study researcher Enrico Amico. Scientias.nl. “This identification was done solely on the basis of so-called ‘functional connectomes’. These are essentially a series of numbers and summarize brain activity. And yet there is a ‘fingerprint’ in these numbers, which makes it possible to distinguish my brain from yours.”

All the information needed to recognize the fingerprint of the brain is contained in this ‘graph’. Image: Enrico Amico

So it seems that the way our brain regions ‘talk to each other’ – or rather how strong the connection between two brain regions is – differs from person to person. “This means it contains characteristics that are unique to each of us,” explains Amico. And this wiring in your brain is so unique that you can be recognized by it.

Change

However, there is a big difference between the ‘fingerprints’ of your brain and those of your fingertips. “You’ve probably noticed that your fingerprint doesn’t really change over time,” says Amico. “However, our brain’s fingerprints are constantly changing.”

How long?

With this discovery in mind, the researcher decided to take it a step further. In previous studies, the unique features of each brain were identified using MRI scans that lasted several minutes. But Amico wondered whether the unique features in the brain could also be identified after a few seconds, or whether there is a specific moment in which they appear. And if so, how long would that moment last? “When do our ‘brain prints’ actually start to show up?” Amico wonders aloud. “Is that already after five seconds, ten seconds or is more time needed? And what if the unique features of different brain regions show up at different times?”

1 minute and 40 seconds

The researchers decided to study the brain activity of subjects over different time scales. And the findings show that surprisingly, there is no need at all to lie in an MRI scanner for minutes at a time. “Our brains can be identified over a much shorter time frame,” Amico says. In fact, it only takes 1 minute and 40 seconds. “However, what is even more interesting,” the researcher continues, “is that different parts of our brain contribute to individual identification at different time scales.” First, the unique features are found in the sensory areas of the brain. Particularly in the areas related to eye movement, visual perception and visual attention. “As time goes by, regions in the frontal cortex associated with more complex and higher cognitive functions also begin to reveal information unique to each of us,” said Amico.

“It’s like a person with Alzheimer’s loses their brain identity”

Alzheimer

The researchers plan to compare the brain prints of healthy patients with those of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Because there is something remarkable going on. “Based on my initial findings, it appears that the features that make each brain unique are steadily disappearing as the disease progresses,” Amico says. “This means it’s getting harder to identify people based on their connectomes. It’s like a person with Alzheimer’s loses their brain identity.”

It means that brain printing could potentially aid in the early detection of certain neurological disorders. In addition, Amico’s technique could potentially also be used in people with autism, patients who have had a stroke or even in people with drug addiction. Perhaps in the future, by taking a closer look at how the wiring of individual people works, a more effective (tailor-made) treatment can also be used. “Our study is a small step towards understanding what makes our brains unique,” ​​Amico says. “The search for that has only just begun. And its potential is limitless.”