What is Functional magnetic resonance imaging?
[[File:Functional magnetic resonance imaging.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A picture from an fMRI]] '''Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging''' (fMRI) is a special type of [[MRI]] that makes it possible to watch different areas of a person's [[brain]] while they do different tasks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cfmriweb.ucsd.edu/Research/whatisfmri.html|title=What Is FMRI? - Center for Functional MRI - UC San Diego|website=cfmriweb.ucsd.edu|access-date=2020-06-11|archive-date=2020-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622172856/https://cfmriweb.ucsd.edu/Research/whatisfmri.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A functional MRI shows the use of [[oxygen]] in different brain areas. The [[Hemoglobin|Deoxyhemoglobin]] in blood [[wikt:absorb|absorb]]s a [[Wave|radiowave]] signal and later [[wikt:emit|emit]]s it (sends it back out). [[Hemoglobin|Oxyhemoglobin]] does not. When an area of the brain is active, the blood flow to that area increases and more oxyhemoglobin is delivered to supply the active cells with oxygen. This means less of the signal is absorbed. An active area of the brain absorbs and emits less energy than a less active area. This can be seen live as it is happening when different areas of the brain 'light up' on the images as they become less active. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Books== * Richard B. Buxton, ''Introduction to functional magnetic resonance imaging: Principles and techniques'', Cambridge University Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-521-58113-3}} ==Related pages== *[[Medical test]] *[[Radiography]] ==Other websites== *[http://www.fmri.org/fmri.htm Columbia University - About fMRI (General)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109170511/http://www.fmri.org/fmri.htm |date=2012-01-09 }} *[http://www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/ Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain] {{med-stub}} [[Category:Medical tests]] [[Category:Medical imaging]]