A concise seminar in fMRI methodology: from Physics to Psychology


Seminar: A concise seminar in fMRI methodology: from Physics to Psychology

Presenter: Carlos A. Gomes

Date: 25th April 2014, 9.30-12.00 hrs.

Location: Building A2.4, SRIIb (room 2.16)

 

 

Description of the seminar

 

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an ever-growing and important neuroimaging technique, and few would disagree that it has been an invaluable tool in the progress of understanding the human mind. Because fMRI is such a multidisciplinary technique, it may, at first, seem a little daunting to the newcomer. This introductory seminar is aimed at providing a general overview into fMRI methodology. During the seminar the students will be guided through the different scientific fields that are related to this fascinating technique in a comprehensive but always accessible manner, thus providing students with a good foundation necessary to understand most fMRI papers in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience fields.

 

Some of the key topics include:

  • What is fMRI?
  • MRI safety
  • Physics of fMRI
  • Physiology of fMRI
  • Designing an fMRI experiment
  • Preprocessing steps of raw images
  • Basic statistical analysis of fMRI data
  • More complex statistical analysis of fMRI data
  • The problem of multiple comparisons
  • Whole-brain vs ROI vs SVC

 

There are no pre-requisites to take part in this seminar, although the students are encouraged to read the "Suggested Reading" before the seminar takes place, as it will provide a reasonable head start on the topic.