How does fMRI brain scanning work? Alan Alda and Dr. Nancy Kanwisher, MIT

During the filming of "Brains on Trial with Alan Alda," Alan made a special stop in a mock fMRI scanner to understand how it works and how scientists can glean insights.

[cfwintner]

Alan Alda is a great interviewer, and Dr. Kanwisher answered in terms everyone can understand. Outstanding video.

[williamjayaraj]

Thanks to the interviewer and Dr. Nancy Kanwisher for explaining about the functioning of fMRI scanner.

[cigxhang]

Very easy to understand! (and sometimes i wonder what my professors are there for)

[ToastedSynapseGaming]

So an fMRI can be used to see changes when we get a certain stimulus, like when we are asked a question, we see a clip or an image of something or when we hear a sound.
What I'm more interested in is how they are sending media to a display (I'm assuming it's that rectangular piece that we see in this clip as part of the head cage) or headphones (as I saw in a clip) WITHOUT the device being affected by magnets. That's some fancy engineering that I want to understand. Aluminum wires? Plastic? Mirrors? What's actually happening?

[shwarnaaluthayashankar]

Probably, half my brain is not working, I should be doing this.

[twoblackrabbits]

Thank you Nancy. Lmao Got a presentation.

[SamuelFamilyILM]

ay yo anyone from mrs martinez class here


-mark

[hewakhalilifar]

GREAT vid! makes me feel excited about neuroimaging!

[kumquatninja]

did they talk about the radioactive injection you have to get or nah?

[calcal]

I, a researcher in the field, estimate that 95% (possibly all in humans) of all published fMRI studies are worthless. The reason is that subject motion creates signal variance that swamps the BOLD signal. Although motion correction algorithms are applied to the data they simply do not work well enough to reduce the motion variance to an insignificant value. Most researchers know this to be true but carry on regardless because their career depends upon doing so. Other researchers are simply ignorant of the artifacts that make this method junk.

[bathsheebasbroth]

Are you telling me he's not actually a doctor?!!

[archemedianviktor]

Do they still not get the valid of this? Actually aware this is valid and reliable and exactly what is certain ends?

[lanceslifepursuittv]

Wow that is cool I want to use this with all my evidence to just rub it in even more.

[archemedianviktor]

Hey arrayan; watching what is going to sue you and hold you to your standard?

[saschamrose]

3:34 oh really? i couldn't tell xD

[dhiahassen]

This spent hundreds of hours in that machine

[archemedianviktor]

We will see in this and a pet scanner won't we?

[archemedianviktor]

I am held to my standard based on my results only. I will be held to my standard and you will be held to yours.

[archemedianviktor]

This is for the accusation of three class x felonies; I will be taking an fmri and a pet scanner and disproving your accusations.

[archemedianviktor]

Are they confused? Bigger and arrayan either way- your going to get destroyed with this and the pet scanner