fMRI

• fMRI

  Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

  • fMRIs detect changes in blood oxygenation and blood flow that occurs due to neural activity in specific brain areas
  • When a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and blood flow is directed to the active area (haemodynamic response)
  • They produce a 3D image showing which parts of the brain are active and therefore must be involved in particular mental processes
• +fMRIs don’t rely on radiation so are safe.

  +produces images with high spatial resolution (shows detail by the mm).

  Therefore they can safely provide a clear picture of how brain activity is localised
• -fMRIs are expensive

  -have poor temporal resolution (5 second time lag between initial neural activity and image)

  Therefore fMRIs may not truly represent moment to moment activity and are expensive to run.