fMRI

The MIT Press Essential Knowledge

by Peter A. Bandettini

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medicine, Technology, Audiobook, Science

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2020

About the author

Peter Bandettini is Chief of the Section on Functional Imaging, Director of the Functional MRI Facility, and Director of the Center for Multimodality Neuroimaging at the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health.

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know very little on MRIs in general, it's not anything I've studied. I randomly chose this book as I find the science behind the MRI sounded interesting. And, from this book, I understand a bit more about functional MRIs, including how they are used, and the terminology around how it works. I felt the author did a good job explaining. I listened to this a few weeks ago and very little stuck with me, beside the thought that if I were going to use this information, say in a class, I would have found this audiobook to be very useful. As it is, in my situation, I'd call it interesting as needed.

[Charlien Tania]

Of all the time I've spent in biopsychology classes, none of the textbook or explanation offered by the lecturer could make me grasp the main idea of FMRI, let alone another brain activity measurement tools. Thank god I found the book, One of the easiest book to read for anyone who is interested in neurocognitive psychology / psychiatry.