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What is functional MRI?

Functional MRI (fMRI) is used to measure the activity of the human brain. The signal used to produce fMRI images is referred to as the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal. When your brain is active, it uses oxygen, which impact the ratio of oxygenated and de-oxygenated hemoglobin in the blood. More active areas of the brain have higher BOLD signal (left).

Scientists then analyze the data to produce statistical parametric maps (right) where different colors reflect the statistical probability that an area of the brain is active during a task.