Methods and Tools II

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 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Increase in activity in the cerebral tissue leads to a blood flow increase that can be measured 
• MRI is based on the absorption and emission of energy in the radio frequency range of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The human body is mostly made of fat and water – body tissues that
have many hydrogen atoms. 

A voxel of the brain. The voxel is a representation

of a volume in three-dimensional space. In the
brain, the resolution of the scanner determines how
small the voxels can be. Parameters such as higher
scanner field strengths increase the spatial
resolution, and hence the ability to represent
separate structures in the brain. The brain voxel
extracts the signal from one part of the brain,
where the local molecular environment influences
the magnetic response.
Time 1 (T1) Image The signal that makes up the MRI. Outside the
scanner the atoms are oriented at random in the
brain (a).
When a subject is put into the scanner, the
atoms align to the magnetic field of the scanner
(B0). However, the alignment is not perfect,
since neighbouring atoms influence each other
(b). At such baseline, the atom spins along the y
axis, i.e. the B0 field (c). When a radio frequency
(RF) pulse is applied the spin of the atoms is
influenced, and “pushed” down (d). This is a
state of disequilibrium, and during equilibration
towards the B0 field the atom releases energy
that it received from the RF pulse. The local
milieu of the atom – i.e. whether it is in grey
matter, white matter, bone or cerebrospinal fluid
– determines the speed of this relaxation. This is
the basis of contrast in the MR image, and thus
what makes it possible to visualise the different
tissues of the body.
Functional MRI
• T1 images are high resolution structural images of the brain
• No information about the function of any brain region

• BOLD fMRI - Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI

• Brain activity during a task
• High spatial resolution (<1mm)
• Brain activation changes the relative concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin
– blood with or without oxygen, respectively – in the local blood supply. While oxygenated blood is
diamagnetic and does not change the MRI signal, deoxygenated blood is paramagnetic and leads
to a drop in the MRI signal. If there is more deoxygenated blood in a region it therefore leads to a
drop in the BOLD signal, and more oxygenated blood in the region leads to a higher signal.
The Blood Oxygenated Level Dependent signal
simplified in four steps. Step 1: increased neural
activation leads to an increase in the
consumption of oxygen from the blood, leading
to a lower level of oxygenated blood, and more
deoxygenated blood, leading to a drop in the
BOLD signal. Step 2: the vascular response to
the increase in oxygen consumption leads to a
dramatic increase in new, oxygenated blood at
the same time as the oxygen consumption drops
due to decreased levels of neuronal activation.
Step 3: a normalising of flow and
deoxy/oxyhemoglobin levels (not shown). Step
4: a post-stimulus undershoot caused by the
slow recovery of blood volume.
Experimental Designs

Block design

Event-related design
Looking at aversive faces activates emotion
areas of the brain. In a series of different face
stimuli, some faces are aversive (e.g.
frightened, sad and repulsion) and others are
neutral. If we subtract the activity associated
with neutral faces from aversive faces, we get
neural signal that is selective for looking at
aversive faces. Here, bilateral amygdala and
orbitofrontal activation can be seen in an
individual subject using this contrast.
Prediction of Sale

Ranking of the six communications based on (A) the explicit judgement of the participants, (B) BOLD signal extracted
from eight regions of interest and computed by means of our a priori proposed fMRI-derived sales prediction value
(=NAcc*2 + mOFC*2+ Amyg + HC + IFG + dmPFC -DLPFC-Ins), (C) BOLD signal change from seeing the product
after compared to before the communication based on the proposed sales prediction value, (D) behavioural data from a
field study measuring actual product sale when the product was offered on a quarter palette with the corresponding
communication in the back.
Limitations
• Complex data analysis, difficulty in reproducing results
• Individual differences
• Region to function mapping
• Caution in interpreting data

Bennett and colleagues (Bennett 2009) showed that by doing

the fMRI analysis on particular ways, they would make
“findings” of brain activation in a dead salmon! Moreover, the
observed brain activation would be tied to “interspecies
communication.” Put more simple: if you do your fMRI
analyses wrong, you may find anything!
Brain Stimulation
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
• Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
We can modify the brain activity by repetitive stimulation

Suppression or excitation of a particular brain region

Example
Downregulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex Prevents Social
Conformity

TMS Sites
Transient downregulation of the posterior
medial frontal cortex by theta-burst transcranial
magnetic stimulation reduces conformity, as
indicated by reduced conformal adjustments in
line with group opinion. Both the extent and
probability of conformal behavioural
adjustments decreased significantly relative to a
sham and a control stimulation over another
brain area. The posterior part of the medial
frontal cortex has previously been implicated in
behavioural and attitudinal adjustments.