In an animated style, John Kerns explains what scholars know about basic brain functioning, much of which has until recently remained relatively speculative – simply because we can’t penetrate the inner regions of the brain. An assistant professor of psychology, Kerns describes how he hopes to someday remedy that problem by using brain-imaging technology, which has been around for only about ten years but could eventually prove to be one of “the most important technological developments” in the area of brain science.

SMA diagnoses are divided into three types. A diagnosis of type one SMA is the most devastating of the three, although each of the types involves an activity loss, to some extent, in an individuals voluntary muscle groups. “As you go through the spectrum, you’ll see a difference in the severity and in the age of the onset of symptoms,” Lorson said.