[Functional magnetic resonance tomography in psychopathological research]

Mental disorders are characterised by psychopathological symptoms which correspond to functional brain states. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used for the non-invasive study of cerebral activation patterns in man. First of all, the neurobiological principles and presuppositions of the method are outlined. Results from the Heidelberg imaging lab on several simple sensorimotor tasks as well as higher cognitive functions, such as working and semantic memory, are then presented. Thereafter, results from preliminary fMRI studies of psychopathological symptoms are discussed, with emphasis on hallucinations, psychomotoric phenomena, emotions, as well as obsessions and compulsions. Functional MRI is limited by the physics underlying the method, as well as by practical constraints regarding its use in conjunction with mentally ill patients. Within this framework, the problems of signal-to-noise ratio, data analysis strategies, motion correction, and neurovascular coupling are considered. Because of the rapid development of the field of fMRI, maps of higher cognitive functions and their respective pathology seem to be coming within easy reach.