Functional neuroimaging

Common methods of functional neuroimaging include PET, fMRI, fNIRS and fUS can measure localized changes in cerebral blood flow related to neural activity.

Regions of the brain which are activated when a subject performs a particular task may play a role in the neural computations which contribute to the behaviour.

An active area of neuroimaging research involves examining the functional connectivity of spatially remote brain regions.

Functional connectivity analyses allow the characterization of interregional neural interactions during particular cognitive or motor tasks or merely from spontaneous activity during rest.

They reported that in non-REM sleep, although the brain responds vigorously to stimulation, functional connectivity is much attenuated from its level during wakefulness.

In one case a group of prominent functional neuroimaging researchers felt compelled to write a letter to New York Times in response to an op-ed article about a study of so-called neuropolitics.

[5] The Hastings Center issued a report in March 2014 entitled "Interpreting Neuroimages: An Introduction to the Technology and Its Limits",[6] with articles by leading neuroscientists and bioethicists.