ABSTRACT
In the first part of this chapter we want to stress that the most important features of present-day neuromagnetic technique directly stem from the seminal work of the pioneering days of biomagnetism in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We describe as an example the pioneering studies undertaken at that time at New York University because they constitute the personal exciting and rewarding experience of Gian Luca Romani. Several other groups around the world were working in biomagnetism at that time and made important contributions to the field; they are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. In the second part of this chapter we report for comparison some recent studies in biomagnetism that show how this technique has undergone impressive progress and has gained an important place among present-day neuroimaging techniques.
