An accessible introduction to the history, fundamental concepts, challenges, and controversies of the fMRI by one of the pioneers in the field. The discovery of functional MRI (fMRI) methodology in 1991 was a breakthrough in neuroscience research. This non-invasive, relatively high-speed, and high sensitivity method of mapping human brain activity enabled observation of subtle localized changes in blood flow associated with brain activity. Thousands of scientists around the world have not only embraced fMRI as a new and powerful method that complemented their ongoing studies but have also gone on to redirect their research around this revolutionary technique. This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers an accessible introduction to the history, fundamental concepts, challenges, and controversies of fMRI, written by one of the pioneers in the field. Peter Bandettini covers the essentials of fMRI, providing insight and perspective from his nearly three decades of research. He describes other brain imaging and assessment methods; the sources of fMRI contrasts; the basic methodology, from hardware to pulse sequences; brain activation experiment design strategies; and data and image processing. A unique, standalone chapter addresses major controversies in the field, outlining twenty-six challenges that have helped shape fMRI research. Finally, Bandettini lays out the four essential pillars of fMRI: technology, methodology, interpretation, and applications. The book can serve as a guide for the curious nonexpert and a reference for both veteran and novice fMRI scientists.

Over the past two decades, fMRI has evolved into an invaluable clinical tool for routine brain imaging. This book provides a state of the art overview of fMRI and its use in clinical practice. Experts in the field share their knowledge and explain how to overcome diverse potential technical barriers and problems. Starting from the very basics on the origin of the BOLD signal, the book covers technical issues, anatomical landmarks, the full range of clinical applications, methods of statistical analysis, and special issues in various clinical fields. Comparisons are made with other brain mapping techniques, such as DTI, PET, TMS, EEG, and MEG, and their combined use with fMRI is also discussed. Since the first edition, original chapters have been updated and new chapters added, covering both novel aspects of analysis and further important clinical applications.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures quick, tiny metabolic changes that take place in the brain, providing the most sensitive method currently available for identifying, investigating, and monitoring brain tumors, stroke, and chronic disorders of the nervous system like multiple sclerosis, and brain abnormalities related to dementia or seizures. This overview explores experimental research design, outlines challenges and limitations of fMRI, provides a detailed neuroanatomic atlas, and describes clinical applications of fMRI in cognitive, sensory, motor, and pharmacological cases, translating research into clinical application.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has become a standard tool for mapping the working brain's activation patterns, both in health and in disease. It is an interdisciplinary field and crosses the borders of neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, radiology, mathematics, physics and engineering. Developments in techniques, procedures and our understanding of this field are expanding rapidly. In this second edition of Introduction to Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Richard Buxton – a leading authority on fMRI – provides an invaluable guide to how fMRI works, from introducing the basic ideas and principles to the underlying physics and physiology. He covers the relationship between fMRI and other imaging techniques and includes a guide to the statistical analysis of fMRI data. This book will be useful both to the experienced radiographer, and the clinician or researcher with no previous knowledge of the technology.

Essentials of Functional MRI is explained from the basic theory underlying magnetic resonance imaging. This includes how it can be used to detect dynamic variations in neural activity to become “functional” MRI, and how fMRI can be used for a variety of applications. The reader will gain an understanding of how fMRI is currently used, its limitations, and how it is still developing. This is achieved by explaining the core concepts and building on them to explain how fMRI data are acquired and what physiological information they provide. These ideas are the key to understanding how the data are analyzed to detect physiological changes that are related to neural activity. With an understanding of the basic underlying concepts, the way that fMRI is used, and its limitations, are much easier to understand. This 2nd edition includes explanations of new advances in MRI techniques and fMRI data analysis methods, and updated examples of applications of fMRI, including current or future clinical applications. This book is intended for students, researchers, and clinicians, who want to understand the theory and practice of fMRI in sufficient detail to use it for neuroscience research, clinical research, and for clinical practice.

Functional MRI: Basic Principles and Emerging Clinical Applications provides an overview of the basic principles of fMRI for clinicians with minimal knowledge of the imaging technique and its research potential and clinical applications. The text is divided into two parts, with Section I covering the primary signal measured in fMRI (BOLD), the correlation between neuronal activity and the BOLD signal, and how the data is analyzed and interpreted in fMRI. Section II explores applications of fMRI in cognitive neuroscience and common psychiatric disorders, surgical planning in neurosurgery, anesthesia and the intensive care unit, and more. Timely and highly accessible, this book is a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians interested in understanding what fMRI is, how it works, and its applications.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures quick, tiny metabolic changes that take place in the brain, providing the most sensitive method currently available for identifying, investigating, and monitoring brain tumors, stroke, and chronic disorders of the nervous system like multiple sclerosis, and brain abnormalities related to dementia or seizures. This overview explains the principles of fMRI, scanning methodlogies, experimental design and data analysis, and outlines challenges and limitations of fMRI. It also provides a detailed neuroanatomic atlas, and describes clinical applications of fMRI in cognitive, sensory, and motor cases, translating research into clinical application.