Gayatry T J Yazholiyal K T Oct 8 & 9

It is a specialized MRI scan used to measure the hemo dynamic response (change in the blood flow) related to neural activity of the brain or spinal cord of humans and other organisms. Recently developed forms of neuro -imaging.

Relies on intrinsic changes in hemoglobin oxygenation. When neural cells are active they increase their consumption of energy from glucose and switch to less energetically effective , but more rapid anaerobic glycolysis.

They are detectable through their paramagnetic effects and serves as the source of the signal for fMRI. Using an appropriate imaging sequence human cortical functions can be observed on a clinical strength scanner.

Neuro surgical planning- determine the spatial relationships between tumour tissue and eloquent brain areas. Since neuro surgery relies on a precise delineation of the structural and functional aspects of brain , the role for fMRI in neurosurgical planning is significant.

The local response to this energy utilization is to increase blood flow to regions of increased neural activity which occurs after a delay of approximately 1-2 seconds and also to decrease the level of deoxy heamoglobin this leads to changes in local cerebral blood volume and local changes in the local conc. Of oxyhemoglobin .

Neurological conditions under investigation using fMRI at Columbia include neglect syndromes, phantom pains, cerebellar dysfunction, and neural reorganisation. The focus is on the identification of cortical areas that are modified by the reduction of pain following therapy.

Fmri methods used to identify brain structures uniquely involved with perceptions, language generation, comprehension of sequential information as in a movie, the execution of visually guided responses , and complex problem solving.

Disorder of neural development characterized and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior. Affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organise. Fmri measures neural activity in live brain tissues.

At Columbia university, according to the team fMRI was used to monitor the areas of the brain that exhibited the most important changes. Official statics indicates that 1 in 110 kids suffer from the condition.

In early 1990s fMRI dominates the brain mapping field due to its relatively low invasiveness, absence of radiation exposure, and relatively wide availability. Non-invasively records brain signals without risks of ionising radiation in other methods like CT or PET scans.

It has high spatial resolution. 2-3 mm is typical but resolution can be good as 1mm. It can record signal from all regions of the brain, unlike EEG/MEG which are biased towards the cortical surface. Produces compelling images of brain activation.

Widely used and standard data-analysis approaches have been developed which allow researchers to compare results across labs. Also used in lie detection test. Disadvantage: Less temporal resolution

FMRI has less temporal resolution(precision of a measurement with respect to time). Similarly EEG which can also be used in brain electric activity has less spatial resolution. Simultaneous use of FMRI and EEG helps to overcome the problem of FMRI.

When EEG and FMRI are simultaneously recorded , well known phenomena such as the switching on and off of the -rhythm of the presence / absence of epileptic spikes can be correlated to fmri signals.

fMRI provides excellent functional brain imaging via the BOLD signal with advantages including non-ionizing radiation , millimeter spatial accuracy of anatomical and functiona data , nearly real-time analyses. Applicable in diagnosis of almost all neurological diseases.

Disadvantages of fMRI(less Temporal resolution) can be overcome by using fMRI and EEG.

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