Multimodal studies of the human brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Abstract

Studying the brain structure and function in health and disease is one of the most important and intensively developing fields of neuroscience in the new century. Nowdays, in vivo studies of brain structure, metabolism, blood flow and function are mostly performed using safe imaging technologies not requiring ionizing radiation and based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this review, the detailed description of the principles of commonly used techniques that provide high-quality information about the brain, such as functional MRI (fMRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is presented. The potential and advantages of these methods including their use in combination with other imaging techniques (MR-tractography etc.) are outlined. The authors believe that combining all MRI options in one study may produce a complex approach for exploring physical-chemical mechanisms underlying brain function which may be of value for basic and applied research.