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PMID: 9448239 Published · ppublish English Historical Article Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. Review

Behind the scenes of functional brain imaging: a historical and physiological perspective.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ·Vol. 95 ·No. 3 ·1998-02-03 ·Pages 765-72

Raichle ME

Abstract

At the forefront of cognitive neuroscience research in normal humans are the new techniques of functional brain imaging: positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The signal used by positron emission tomography is based on the fact that changes in the cellular activity of the brain of normal, awake humans and laboratory animals are accompanied almost invariably by changes in local blood flow. This robust, empirical relationship has fascinated scientists for well over a hundred years. Because the changes in blood flow are accompanied by lesser changes in oxygen consumption, local changes in brain oxygen content occur at the sites of activation and provide the basis for the signal used by magnetic resonance imaging. The biological basis for these signals is now an area of intense research stimulated by the interest in these tools for cognitive neuroscience research.

MeSH Terms
Animals Brain/anatomy & histology,diagnostic imaging,physiology Brain Mapping Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology Diagnostic Imaging History, 20th Century Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Neurosciences/history Tomography, Emission-Computed
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Raichle M E
Washington University School of Medicine, 4525 Scott Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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Article Info
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abbr.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.95.3.765
Published
1998-02-03
Pages
765-72
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7505876
PMCID
PMC33796
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1073/pnas.95.3.765 PMC Full Text View journal details
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