Functional MRI, or fMRI, is a really important tool that helps us see how the brain works. It helps scientists and doctors understand small changes in how our brains function, especially related to some brain-related illnesses.
fMRI works by looking at how much oxygen is in the blood in different parts of the brain. This oxygen level, known as BOLD signals, helps show which areas of the brain are active and how they might be linked to various disorders.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Research shows that fMRI can spot early changes in brain activity for people with Alzheimer’s. For example, in early stages, a 30% drop in connections in a certain brain network is seen.
Depression: Studies also find that fMRI can show unusual activity in important brain areas linked to mood, like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. About 70% of patients with depression have specific patterns in these areas that relate to how serious their symptoms are.
Even though fMRI is helpful, it has some downsides. For instance, it can't always detect tiny brain issues because its resolution (the sharpness of the images) is about 3-4 millimeters. This can be a problem for conditions like multiple sclerosis, where smaller changes can happen.
In the future, new imaging tools and improvements in machine learning may help make fMRI even better. Experts think these advances could boost how well fMRI detects small brain changes by up to 15% over the next ten years.
Functional MRI, or fMRI, is a really important tool that helps us see how the brain works. It helps scientists and doctors understand small changes in how our brains function, especially related to some brain-related illnesses.
fMRI works by looking at how much oxygen is in the blood in different parts of the brain. This oxygen level, known as BOLD signals, helps show which areas of the brain are active and how they might be linked to various disorders.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Research shows that fMRI can spot early changes in brain activity for people with Alzheimer’s. For example, in early stages, a 30% drop in connections in a certain brain network is seen.
Depression: Studies also find that fMRI can show unusual activity in important brain areas linked to mood, like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. About 70% of patients with depression have specific patterns in these areas that relate to how serious their symptoms are.
Even though fMRI is helpful, it has some downsides. For instance, it can't always detect tiny brain issues because its resolution (the sharpness of the images) is about 3-4 millimeters. This can be a problem for conditions like multiple sclerosis, where smaller changes can happen.
In the future, new imaging tools and improvements in machine learning may help make fMRI even better. Experts think these advances could boost how well fMRI detects small brain changes by up to 15% over the next ten years.