British scientists have made a significant attempt in the field of neurodevelopment. They have been successful in understanding the internal wiring system of brain with the support of a new imaging technique

Claiming that this new finding would help them in combating many mental illnesses, researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have reportedly scanned brains of infants to monitor the formation of insulating layers around nerve cells.

Confirming the importance of insulating myelin sheaths, they have reportedly understood the process of myelination, which is visible in all the brain areas. Sean Deoni, who led the study, published by the Journal of Neuroscience, attributes the damage of myelination process as the potential cause of range of neurological and psychiatric illnesses, including autism and mental ability.

Admitting myelination as the key process in treating proper brain development, Sean assured that this new imaging technique would act as a boon to several vulnerable patients, such as premature babies.

In order to build up a picture of myelin development, Deoni's team scanned 14 healthy babies who were born at full term with the help of baby friendly MRI scanner.

After this major breakthrough, Declan Murphy from King's College London is expected to study the myelin development of premature babies and how does this differ from that of the babies born at full term.