Functional MRI in clinical practice: a pictorial essay

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Radiology

Background:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a crucial non-invasive technique in clinical practice.
• It is especially valuable for the preoperative assessment of patients with brain tumors and epilepsy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review expected areas of eloquent cortical activation during four major clinical paradigms.
• To discuss potential pitfalls associated with fMRI acquisition and interpretation.
• To present clinical examples highlighting the utility of fMRI in preoperative planning.

Main Methods:

• Pictorial essay format.
• Review of established fMRI paradigms for mapping eloquent cortex.
• Discussion of common challenges and limitations in clinical fMRI.
• Case study illustrations.

Main Results:

• Identification of typical cortical areas activated during standard fMRI tasks.
• Enumeration of potential sources of error and artifact in fMRI studies.
• Demonstration of successful application of fMRI in guiding surgical decisions for complex brain pathologies.

Conclusions:

• fMRI is an indispensable tool for neurosurgical planning, offering critical insights into brain function.
• Understanding activation patterns and potential pitfalls is essential for reliable fMRI application.
• Clinical examples underscore the significant impact of fMRI on patient outcomes.