[Clinical application of functional magnetic resonance imaging]

Three types of researches have been carried out on brain-mind relationships: 1. researches on anatomical correlates of special talents (for example, perfect pitch) or deficits (for example, dyslexia), 2. researches to examine the relationship between a given cognitive syndrome and the site of brain damage, 3. researches to localize human cognitive function in the brain in vivo using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). fMRI is a particularly important because it is noninvasive. A tutorial covering basic aspects of this methodology is presented, along with a survey of recent fMRI data related to clinical application. Future investigations of the three types enumerated above are expected to further clarify brain-mind relationships.