What is feasible with imaging human brain function and connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Cellular Neuroscience

Background:

• No single "golden technique" exists for studying brain function; current methods like electrophysiology, optical techniques, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have limitations.
• fMRI uniquely enables human brain studies, offering significant accomplishments and revealing new scales of brain function.
• Existing methods provide complementary information, highlighting the need for integrated approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review research efforts focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of fMRI.
• To define the limitations of fMRI and develop solutions for its advancement.
• To explore how fMRI principles, combined with finer-scale methods, can accelerate human brain discoveries.

Main Methods:

• Review of collaborative research on fMRI mechanisms and limitations.
• Development of solutions to advance fMRI technology and application.
• Integration of fMRI data with findings from electrophysiology and optical techniques.

Main Results:

• Knowledge of human brain function has significantly expanded due to fMRI.
• fMRI has demonstrated feasibility in exploring unprecedented scales of human brain function.
• Advancements in fMRI methods and instrumentation are poised to accelerate discoveries.

Conclusions:

• fMRI, despite its limitations, is a powerful tool for studying the human brain.
• Combining fMRI with other high-resolution techniques will drive future neuroscience breakthroughs.
• The dynamic evolution of neuroimaging methods promises a new era of accelerated brain discovery.