ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) generation. MR images are of great clinical and research value not only for their detail and clarity, but also for their precise spatial localization of tissue structures. Modern MR Scanners can localize tissue shapes with millimeters lower resolution. The general linear model (GLM) is a framework within which all these are integrated and viewed as the raw image. The fundamental assumption of general linear model is that all these fMRI components and artifacts are linearly superposed to generate the raw fMRI image, from which these are to be separated out. UNIX-based open-source software Analysis of Functional NeuroImages (AFNI) too has very powerful and flexible visualization abilities including the ability to integrate visualization of volumes and cortical surfaces using the SUMA toolbox. AFNI’s statistical modeling and inference tools have historically been less sophisticated than those available in Statistical Parametric Mapping and FMRIB Software Library.
