Difference between revisions of "1453: fMRI"

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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
The symptoms are direct results of the test itself. During fMRI patients hear loud noises, are confined in a box (thus the claustrophobia) and the magnetic field could rip off their jewelry if they are wearing any. The researcher has mistaken these as effects caused by ''performing simple tasks'' which the patients have been asked to do and not a direct result of the settings of the test.
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{{w|Functional magnetic resonance imaging|fMRI}} (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), as the name suggests, is an offshoot of the MRI procedure. It is a technique designed to show brain activity, typically while the subject is performing tasks or responding to stimuli. During the test, the subject is laid in a relatively small cylinder inside a big, very loud, machine producing extremely strong magnetic fields. To prevent damage or injury, the subject must remove all metal objects from their body, including piercings, jewelry, watches etc.
  
fMRI (or Functional MRI) is a technique designed to show brain activity while performing tasks. Despite the elaborate name, this is, still, basically, an MRI test, i.e.: the subject is put into a relatively small cylinder inside a big, very loud, machine producing extremely strong magnetic fields.
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In the tests shown the brain activity detected is a direct results of the test itself, and nothing to do with the simple tasks being performed by the subject. During fMRI patients hear loud noises, are confined in a small space (thus the claustrophobia) and have removed their jewelry. The researcher has mistaken these as effects as being caused by ''performing simple tasks'' which the patients have been asked to do and not a direct result of the settings of the test. Thus, the memory areas described by Megan are those associated with taking a functional MRI scan, rather than those associated with the "test" supposedly being carried out.
  
Thus, the memory areas described by Meg are those associated with taking a functional MRI scan, rather than those associated with the "test" supposedly being carried out.
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It appears that Randall makes fun of the overly confident, sweeping statements made by some fMRI researchers, often in the press. In reality the technique is still in its infancy and while large amounts data can be produced, their interpretation usually remains ambiguous. Problems include statistical analyses and the use of proper control groups.  See [http://bit.ly/1y7nciM here] for further information as well as an anecdote involving a dead salmon.
 
 
It appears that Randall makes fun of the overly confident, sweeping statements made by some fMRI researchers, often in the press. In reality the technique is still in its infancy and while large amounts data can be produced, their interpretation usually remains ambiguous. Problems include statistical analyses and the use of proper control groups.  See http://bit.ly/1y7nciM for further information as well as an anecdote involving a dead salmon.
 
  
 
The title text continues with this theme, adding "dubious study methodology" and "concern about unremoved piercings" to the list. The "Warped Tour" reference appears to be used as another indication of poor study design with lots of cognitive confounders (which usually go unreported due to publication bias).
 
The title text continues with this theme, adding "dubious study methodology" and "concern about unremoved piercings" to the list. The "Warped Tour" reference appears to be used as another indication of poor study design with lots of cognitive confounders (which usually go unreported due to publication bias).

Revision as of 10:25, 28 November 2014

fMRI
They also showed activation in the parts of the brain associated with exposure to dubious study methodology, concern about unremoved piercings, and exasperation with fMRI techs who won't stop talking about Warped Tour.
Title text: They also showed activation in the parts of the brain associated with exposure to dubious study methodology, concern about unremoved piercings, and exasperation with fMRI techs who won't stop talking about Warped Tour.

Explanation

fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), as the name suggests, is an offshoot of the MRI procedure. It is a technique designed to show brain activity, typically while the subject is performing tasks or responding to stimuli. During the test, the subject is laid in a relatively small cylinder inside a big, very loud, machine producing extremely strong magnetic fields. To prevent damage or injury, the subject must remove all metal objects from their body, including piercings, jewelry, watches etc.

In the tests shown the brain activity detected is a direct results of the test itself, and nothing to do with the simple tasks being performed by the subject. During fMRI patients hear loud noises, are confined in a small space (thus the claustrophobia) and have removed their jewelry. The researcher has mistaken these as effects as being caused by performing simple tasks which the patients have been asked to do and not a direct result of the settings of the test. Thus, the memory areas described by Megan are those associated with taking a functional MRI scan, rather than those associated with the "test" supposedly being carried out.

It appears that Randall makes fun of the overly confident, sweeping statements made by some fMRI researchers, often in the press. In reality the technique is still in its infancy and while large amounts data can be produced, their interpretation usually remains ambiguous. Problems include statistical analyses and the use of proper control groups. See here for further information as well as an anecdote involving a dead salmon.

The title text continues with this theme, adding "dubious study methodology" and "concern about unremoved piercings" to the list. The "Warped Tour" reference appears to be used as another indication of poor study design with lots of cognitive confounders (which usually go unreported due to publication bias).

Transcript

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Discussion

" ... and the magnetic field could rip off their jewelry if they are wearing ..." No, I think he's referring to the fact that the subjects were told to remove their jewelry before going into the machine, so that is still on their minds. --RenniePet (talk) 08:10, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Which they are told because of the fields, which might rip and tear, or just heat up metallic objects... :) --Ergonomist (talk) 10:00, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Oh come on, it says "the parts of the brain associated with ... and the removal of jewelry". "Removal of jewelry" is something one does oneself. It's not something one typically thinks about as being done to you by magnetic waves. --RenniePet (talk) 10:23, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Look what the Americans have done to the rather beautiful word 'Jewellery'! I thought it was a horrendous typo by Randall... but no. Lets rip out a couple letters so that a flowing word is reduced to sounding like a sullen teenager. --Pudder (talk) 10:29, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Do not blame us - its not our fault. The root goes back to 1828, where a linguist named Noah Webster (of Webster's dictionary) laid out a new way to spell words differently in an attempt to differentiate Americans from Britons. It was a whole identity thing, and became extremely popular and took off. Oh well. I always liked the spelling of words with the "ou" in it (colour, etc). On the other hand, "jewellery" just looks rediculous. USA! USA! USA! 173.245.56.215 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Not sure about 'warped tour' referring to 'cognitive confounders'. It's capitalised, so believe that it refers to the travelling music festival; the subject is displaying irritation with the operator constantly talking about their experience at The Warped Tour, just as you would if they were jabbering about last night's TV or the latest boyband. 141.101.98.176 11:07, 28 November 2014 (UTC) IB


The Warped Tour reference may be a scientific in-joke: a key part of algorithms for analyzing MRI data is warping the images so the brain regions are lined up to compare them. Your brain and my brain and every other person's brain are not exactly the same size and shape. So an algorithm identifies key anatomical landmarks and warps the images of each brain to a standard brain map. Otherwise it would be impossible to compare brain scans -- pixels that represent your amygdala might be in the same location as pixels that represent your cerebellum. 108.162.219.221 16:17, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Here is a small sample of the extensive scientific literature about biomedical image warping methods:

"warping tensors according to the spatial transformation that is calculated between the original and template spaces will also produce inaccurate results by altering the shape of individual tensors, thereby also altering measurements of local diffusivity and distorting inferences concerning tissue microstructure that are based on those measures of local diffusivity" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2365743/ 173.245.52.125 12:39, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

This is surely an example of the Observer Effect? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_%28physics%29 141.101.98.160 19:31, 29 November 2014 (UTC)


..."In real experiments, reported activity patterns are always a result of subtracting average brain activity from many samples gathered during task from so called resting-state activity" Actually, task activation is generally compared to some other control task or condition, rather than resting state, especially for a short-term memory study such as that referenced in the comic. For example some other task with matched stimulus presentation and response demands (i.e. press a button), but without any memory load. And if rest were used as the implicit baseline, it is extremely unlikely any actual subtraction would be done--rather the so-called resting state would be the implicit baseline state of a multiple regression, in which the task-related predictor variables are convolved with a canonical hemodynamic response function. 108.162.219.118 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~) 108.162.219.118 18:57, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

Also, the concern with unremoved piercings would not be that they could be ripped off during scanning. A participant or patient would not be allowed in the MR room with a dangerous (i.e. large, ferrous metal) piercing, and if somehow one were it would be noticed prior to the initiation of any functional scans (the magnet is always on, so it would be ripped off or otherwise respond to the magnetic field while the participant was being positioned in the scanner bore). Rather, the concern here would be about the piercings heating up during scanning and potentially burning the participant, or potentially causing magnetic susceptibility artifacts in the acquired images (particularly for facial piercings). As precaution it is common to warn participants with unremoved piercings to be attentive to any heating sensation around their piercings and to notify MR technologists immediately if any heating occurs. 108.162.219.118 18:57, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

When I remove jewelry, my main worry is that it will get stolen. 199.27.133.94 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)