Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most recently developed forms of neuro-imaging and it provides high-resolution non-invasive three-dimensional images of the structure and function of the brain.
As a brain imaging technique, MRI has several significant advantages:
- It is non-invasive and does not involve ionizing radiation (like X-rays)
- It allows researchers to get very detailed images of the brain and to track changes over time.
- It is easy for the experimenter to use
Over the last decade it has provided new insight into the way memories are formed, how we process emotions and how we learn new things, to name but a few areas of research.
Find out more about how MRI works here.
MRI scanners, like the one in Oxford FMRIB Centre, give the opportunity to see the brain in action! Ossie’s tour around the body demonstrates how neuroscience and physics combine to show how the brain works – see more at Oxford Sparks.