9.71 Functional MRI of High-Level Vision, Fall 2002

Abstract

Covers the basics of fMRI, the strengths and limitations of fMRI compared to other techniques, and the design and analysis of fMRI experiments, focusing primarily on experiments on high-level vision. Upon completion, students should be able to understand and critique published fMRI papers, have a good grasp on what is known about high-level vision from fMRI, and design their own fMRI experiments. From the course home page: Highlights of this Course We are now at an unprecedented period in the field of neuroscience: We can watch the human brain in action as it sees, thinks, decides, reads, and remembers. Using the recently-developed technique of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), local neural activity can be monitored in the normal human brain in a noninvasive fashion and with good spatial resolution. A large number of far-reaching and fundamental questions about the human brain can now be answered using straightforward applications of this new technology. This is particularly true in the area of high-level vision, the study of how we interpret and use visual information (including object recognition, visual attention, perceptual awareness, visually guided action, visual memory, and other topics). The goals of this course are to help students to become savvy and critical readers of the current neuroimaging literature, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the technique, and to design their own cutting-edge, theoretically motivated studies. Students will read, present to the class, and critique current neuroimaging articles, as well as write detailed proposals for experiments of their own. Lectures will cover theoretical background on some of the major areas in high-level vision, including visual recognition and attention, as well as an overview of what fMRI has taught us and can in future teach us about each of these topics. Lectures and discussions will also cover fMRI methods and experimental design. A prior course in statistics and at least one course in perception or cognition are required.