Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Interpreting the BOLD signal.

Nikos K Logothetis1, Brian A Wandell

  • 1Max-Planck Institut fur Biologische Kybernetik, Tubingen, Germany.

Annual Review of Physiology
|February 24, 2004
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An image-computable spatio-chromatic receptive field model of the midget retinal ganglion cell mosaic across the retina.

Journal of computational neuroscience·2026
Same author

Modeling spectroradiometric measurements of oral mucosal tissue autofluorescence.

Biomedical optics express·2026
Same author

Limitations of 2-dimensional line-scan MRI for directly measuring neural activity.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025
Same author

Conscious and unconscious processes in vision and homeostasis.

Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience·2025
Same author

Signatures of criticality in efficient coding networks.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024
Same author

Partial chemogenetic inhibition of the locus coeruleus due to heterogeneous transduction of noradrenergic neurons preserved auditory salience processing in wild-type rats.

The European journal of neuroscience·2024
Same journal

CaMKII in the Heart: From Homeostasis to Pathology.

Annual review of physiology·2026
Same journal

Cerebrospinal Fluid-Mediated Brain Clearance: Insights from Human Studies.

Annual review of physiology·2026
Same journal

The Physiological Challenge of Climate Change for Free-Living Terrestrial Mammals.

Annual review of physiology·2026
Same journal

Light Out of Sight: Signaling Mechanisms for Nonvisual Opsins.

Annual review of physiology·2025
Same journal

From Oil Spills to Air Pollution: The Emergence of Phenanthrene as a Ubiquitous Cardiac Toxicant.

Annual review of physiology·2025
Same journal

The Representation of Nociception and Pain in the Developing Brain.

Annual review of physiology·2025
See all related articles

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures brain activity indirectly via blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Understanding the link between neural activity and BOLD signals is crucial for interpreting fMRI data in neuroscience research.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a key tool for studying the neural basis of cognition.
  • fMRI signals, specifically the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal, are indirect measures of neural activity.
  • Interpreting fMRI data requires understanding the complex relationship between neural processes and hemodynamic responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the causal relationships between neural activity and the BOLD signal.
  • To review how analyses of the neural-BOLD relationship challenge existing neuroscience assumptions.
  • To provide guidance on using the BOLD signal for inferring neural activity.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on the neurovascular coupling mechanisms.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of studies investigating the causal links between neuronal firing and BOLD responses.
  • Examination of how BOLD signal interpretations have evolved with new findings.

    • Main Results:

    • The BOLD signal is a complex function of neural activity, influenced by metabolic and vascular factors.
    • Current understanding reveals that the relationship is not always linear and can be modulated by various physiological states.
    • Some long-held assumptions in neuroscience regarding direct BOLD signal interpretation have been challenged.

    Conclusions:

    • A deeper understanding of neurovascular coupling is essential for accurate fMRI data interpretation.
    • Future research should focus on refining models that link neural activity to the BOLD signal.
    • The BOLD signal remains a valuable tool, but its limitations and underlying mechanisms must be carefully considered in neuroscience research.