Characteristics
- Spatial Resolution
- 1-3 mm
- Temporal Resolution
- 1-2 seconds
- Maturity
- Established
- Invasiveness
- Non-invasive
Uses magnetic fields and radio waves, no injections or invasive procedures required
- Summary
- fMRI
- Tags
- MagneticElectromagnetic
- Effects Involved
- BOLD
Details
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) works by measuring the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal, which reflects changes in blood oxygenation that occur in response to neural activity.
When neurons are active, they consume oxygen, leading to increased blood flow to that region. This creates a detectable change in the magnetic properties of blood that can be measured using strong magnetic fields and radio frequency pulses.
The technique provides excellent spatial resolution and good temporal resolution, making it one of the most widely used neuroimaging methods for studying brain function in both research and clinical settings.
Diagram
Literature Review
| Title | Spatial Res. | Temporal Res. | Subjects | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (1990) Seminal paper introducing fMRI based on BOLD contrast | 2-4 mm | 2-4 seconds | Humans | Seminal paper introducing fMRI based on BOLD contrast |
Semantic reconstruction of continuous language from non-invasive brain recordings (2023) A non-invasive fMRI-based decoder maps cortical semantic activity to continuous, intelligible word sequences—reconstructing perceived speech, imagined speech, and even the content of silent videos. | 2.5mm | 2s | Humans | A non-invasive fMRI-based decoder maps cortical semantic activity to continuous, intelligible word sequences—reconstructing perceived speech, imagined speech, and even the content of silent videos. |