Things to consider when designing an fMRI study

One of the first questions you, as an investigator or an individual who wants to collect MRI data, need to answer is that what is the objective of the study? What are you looking for in the data? Are you interested to find any structural change due to some disease? Or you want to understand how different regions of the brain work?

The answer to these question will help you decide about the scan protocol. You will need to decide the scan types, duration and parameters. Here at the Center for functional MRI we offer several MRI scans that can be used for different purposes. Scans that we offer here iclude:

  • Structural scan (T1, T2)
  • Functional Scan
  • ASL
  • DTI

More information about some of these scans can be found here.

Make a decision about each scan’s parameter

You have the option to choose from available standard scans or modify the parameters based on your needs if you know what you are doing. We support standard protocols like ABCD which are used nationwide.

Resting state or task-based?

For the functional scans you need to decide whether you want the subject to perform a task during the scan or be in a resting state. Of course you can include both in your protocol if possible.

Things to consider for a task based scan:

  • Length of the scan
  • Event-related, block design, or something new that you would like to try
  • Duration and the number of on/offs

Things to consider for a resting state scan:

  • Length of the scan
  • Eye status