When a massive new MRI machine slid into place Wednesday at the University of Utah, researchers gained a promising tool in the quest to better understand mental illness.

The machine housed at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI) will be the first at the school dedicated solely to human brain scanning research. Studies have shown that mental illness can be associated with physical changes in the brain, raising hopes that scans will one day help determine a patient's disorder.

Psychiatric disorders now are typically identified through observation of behavior patterns.

"There is quite a lot of room for improvement in diagnosis," said Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, one of the co-directors of the diagnostic neuroimaging group and a professor of psychiatry.

"It offers the potential of pulling psychiatry into the more objective era," said another co-director, Perry Renshaw, also a professor of psychiatry.

Researchers plan to use the machine, which cost about $2.5 million, to examine adolescents and adults in studies ranging from teenage substance abuse to traumatic brain injury in veterans. Scans will be used to examine shifts in brain chemistry, the impact of medication and other changes in the brain.

Brain imaging is increasingly being used to study mental illness. A visiting professor at the University of Utah,Inkyoon Lyoo, recently published results of a five-year study of South Korean subway fire survivors who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The research found that part of the brain thickens as people try to overcome trauma and normalizes in size as they recover, said Lyoo, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Seoul National University.

Doctors will eventually be able to diagnose disorders with more confidence, Lyoo expects. "By brain imaging we can provide more direct evidence of what is going on in the brain and behavior," he said.

Evidence of brain "signatures" for particular diseases has begun to emerge, and researchers believe using imaging to diagnose could become a reality in as little as five years. That advance could help patients receive more accurate treatment.

"We might see improvement earlier in the course of the illness," said Yurgelun-Todd. "In the long run, a good diagnosis could reduce the cost of the illness over a lifetime."

Use of the MRI machine will begin this fall. The increased number of scanner hours are expected to speed the pace of research while bringing clinicians, patients and researchers into closer proximity,thanks to its location at UNI.

The machine was paid for through the state-funded Utah Science Technology and Research initiative. For USTAR, the machine is a long-term investment, providing experts with the best means of pursuing their research.

"It's also a means for the university to further develop [its] talent and further expand the opportunities for research grants and studies," said Michael O'Malley, USTAR communications director.

Research at the U. will include the study of addiction's impact on the brain, and how the brain is affected by treatment. "Think of the societal cost we could avoid if there's a breakthrough there," O'Malley said.

jlyon@sltrib.com