it measures the changes in blood flow in particular areas of the brain which indicates increased neural activity in those areas.
one strength of fMRI's.
it is non-invasive, it does not expose the individual to harmful radiation .
one strength of fMRI's.
compared to PET scans it has better temporal resolution (a shorter delay between activity and imaging) and spatial resolution depicting detail by the mm, rather than the cm.
one weakness of fMRI's.
it isn't a direct measure of neuronal activity in areas of the brain. therefore it is difficult to tell exactly what kind of activity is occurring in these brain areas.
one weakness of fMRI's.
it overlooks the networked nature of brain activity, as it focuses on localisation. critics argue that it is communication between the different regions that is most critical to mental function.
