Overview of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Overview

Journal Neurosurg Clin N Am

Specialty Neurosurgery

Date 2011 Mar 26

PMID 21435566

Citations 304

Authors

Gary H Glover

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) depicts changes in deoxyhemoglobin concentration consequent to task-induced or spontaneous modulation of neural metabolism. Since its inception in 1990, this method has been widely employed in thousands of studies of cognition for clinical applications such as surgical planning, for monitoring treatment outcomes, and as a biomarker in pharmacologic and training programs. More recently, attention is turning to the use of pattern classification and other statistical methods to draw increasingly complex inferences about cognitive brain states from fMRI data. This article reviews the methods, challenges, and future of fMRI.

Citing Articles

An Overview of Anesthetic Procedures for Ferret (Mustela putorius furo) Preclinical Brain MRI: A Call for Standardization.

Celdran-Bonafonte D, OConnell K, Dieckhaus L, Mocarski E, Adras N, Hutchinson E J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2025; 64(1):16-28.

PMID: 40035279 PMC: 11808380. DOI: 10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-24-086.

Discrete Repetition Effects for Visual Words Compared to Faces and Animals, but No Modulation by Expectation: An Event-Related Potential Study.

Song B, Sommer W, Maurer U Eur J Neurosci. 2025; 61(5):e70047.

PMID: 40033627 PMC: 11876721. DOI: 10.1111/ejn.70047.

Effects of vitamin D on brain function in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: a resting-state functional MRI study.

Tian P, Zhu X, Liu Z, Bian B, Jia F, Dou L BMC Psychiatry. 2025; 25(1):198.

PMID: 40033268 PMC: 11877728. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-025-06534-8.

Relationship Between Signals from Cerebral near Infrared Spectroscopy Sensor Technology and Objectively Measured Cerebral Blood Volume: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Silvaggio N, Stein K, Sainbhi A, Vakitbilir N, Bergmann T, Islam A Sensors (Basel). 2025; 25(3).

PMID: 39943547 PMC: 11819900. DOI: 10.3390/s25030908.

Integrating fMRI spatial network dynamics and EEG spectral power: insights into resting state connectivity.

Phadikar S, Pusuluri K, Iraji A, Calhoun V Front Neurosci. 2025; 19:1484954.

PMID: 39935841 PMC: 11810936. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1484954.

References

Detre J, Leigh J, Williams D, Koretsky A . Perfusion imaging. Magn Reson Med. 1992; 23(1):37-45. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1910230106. View

Boxerman J, Bandettini P, Kwong K, Baker J, Davis T, Rosen B . The intravascular contribution to fMRI signal change: Monte Carlo modeling and diffusion-weighted studies in vivo. Magn Reson Med. 1995; 34(1):4-10. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1910340103. View

Worsley K, Liao C, Aston J, Petre V, Duncan G, Morales F . A general statistical analysis for fMRI data. Neuroimage. 2002; 15(1):1-15. DOI: 10.1006/nimg.2001.0933. View

Greicius M . Resting-state functional connectivity in neuropsychiatric disorders. Curr Opin Neurol. 2008; 21(4):424-30. DOI: 10.1097/WCO.0b013e328306f2c5. View

Ogawa S, Lee T, Nayak A, Glynn P . Oxygenation-sensitive contrast in magnetic resonance image of rodent brain at high magnetic fields. Magn Reson Med. 1990; 14(1):68-78. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1910140108. View

Basser P, Pajevic S, Pierpaoli C, Duda J, Aldroubi A . In vivo fiber tractography using DT-MRI data. Magn Reson Med. 2000; 44(4):625-32. DOI: 10.1002/1522-2594(200010)44:4<625::aid-mrm17>3.0.co;2-o. View

Edmister W, Talavage T, Ledden P, Weisskoff R . Improved auditory cortex imaging using clustered volume acquisitions. Hum Brain Mapp. 1999; 7(2):89-97. PMC: 6873308. View

Menon R . Postacquisition suppression of large-vessel BOLD signals in high-resolution fMRI. Magn Reson Med. 2002; 47(1):1-9. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.10041. View

Calhoun V, Adali T, Pearlson G, Pekar J . A method for making group inferences from functional MRI data using independent component analysis. Hum Brain Mapp. 2001; 14(3):140-51. PMC: 6871952. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.1048. View

10.

Bandettini P, Jesmanowicz A, Wong E, Hyde J . Processing strategies for time-course data sets in functional MRI of the human brain. Magn Reson Med. 1993; 30(2):161-73. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1910300204. View

11.

Yacoub E, Van de Moortele P, Shmuel A, Ugurbil K . Signal and noise characteristics of Hahn SE and GE BOLD fMRI at 7 T in humans. Neuroimage. 2005; 24(3):738-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.09.002. View

12.

Belliveau J, Kennedy Jr D, McKinstry R, Buchbinder B, Weisskoff R, Cohen M . Functional mapping of the human visual cortex by magnetic resonance imaging. Science. 1991; 254(5032):716-9. DOI: 10.1126/science.1948051. View

13.

Davis T, Kwong K, Weisskoff R, Rosen B . Calibrated functional MRI: mapping the dynamics of oxidative metabolism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998; 95(4):1834-9. PMC: 19199. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.95.4.1834. View

14.

Buckner R, Bandettini P, OCraven K, Savoy R, Petersen S, Raichle M . Detection of cortical activation during averaged single trials of a cognitive task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996; 93(25):14878-83. PMC: 26230. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.93.25.14878. View

15.

Weiger M, Pruessmann K, Osterbauer R, Bornert P, Boesiger P, Jezzard P . Sensitivity-encoded single-shot spiral imaging for reduced susceptibility artifacts in BOLD fMRI. Magn Reson Med. 2002; 48(5):860-6. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.10286. View

16.

Hsu J, Glover G . Mitigation of susceptibility-induced signal loss in neuroimaging using localized shim coils. Magn Reson Med. 2005; 53(2):243-8. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.20365. View

17.

Phan K, Fitzgerald D, Gao K, Moore G, Tancer M, Posse S . Real-time fMRI of cortico-limbic brain activity during emotional processing. Neuroreport. 2004; 15(3):527-32. DOI: 10.1097/00001756-200403010-00029. View

18.

Ogawa S, Menon R, Tank D, Kim S, Merkle H, Ellermann J . Functional brain mapping by blood oxygenation level-dependent contrast magnetic resonance imaging. A comparison of signal characteristics with a biophysical model. Biophys J. 1993; 64(3):803-12. PMC: 1262394. DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3495(93)81441-3. View

19.

Glover G, Law C . Spiral-in/out BOLD fMRI for increased SNR and reduced susceptibility artifacts. Magn Reson Med. 2001; 46(3):515-22. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1222. View

20.

Bodurka J, Bandettini P . Toward direct mapping of neuronal activity: MRI detection of ultraweak, transient magnetic field changes. Magn Reson Med. 2002; 47(6):1052-8. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.10159. View