Functional MRI (fMRI) is a widely used technique of brain imaging in the cognitive sciences, allowing researchers to visualize what part of the brain is responding to certain stimuli, resulting in striking images of live brains. These days, fMRI is seeing more non-research use, such as forming the basis of controversial new lie detectors. Craig Bennett, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB, submitted a whole Atlantic salmon to fMRI analysis, and found that this fish could apparently detect, and respond to, the the emotional state of human beings (poster). Remarkable science, especially considering the salmon was dead at the time. [more inside]
posted by Rumple on Sep 24, 2009 - 59 comments

The Brain Unveiled: A new imaging method offers a spectacular view of neural structures. Diffusion spectrum imaging, developed by neuroscientist Van Wedeen at Massachusetts General Hospital, analyzes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in new ways, letting scientists map the nerve fibers that carry information between cells.
posted by srboisvert on Nov 24, 2008 - 12 comments

Win a free MRI machine: An odd medical equipment distribution scheme, winanmri.com will give away a free MAGNETOM to the hospital that gets the most votes for their submitted video. (videos on right hand side).
posted by edgeways on Nov 11, 2007 - 14 comments

It's not often one gets one's bong in the scientific literature, let alone one designed to allow you to smoke weed inside an MRI scanner... [more inside]
posted by prostyle on Oct 2, 2007 - 62 comments

Fat MRI shows the difference between subcutaneous and deep body fat, and makes some distinctions beyond just apple/pear. Here's another article, same site. I originally found this strange image searching for info on health effects of fat/red meat depending on whether it's mainly pastured as frequently discussed here or mainly unnaturally fed (as per Omnivore's Dilemma.)
posted by Listener on Feb 19, 2007 - 12 comments

Political thinking isn't really 'thinking'. Neuroscientists have now tracked what happens in the politically partisan brain when it tries to digest damning facts about favored candidates or criticisms of them. The process is almost entirely emotional and unconscious, and there are flares of activity in the brain's pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected. Via Slate. This jives with past research about the difference between democrat’s and republican’s brains.
posted by ND¢ on Jan 24, 2006 - 50 comments

Don't Even Think About Lying fMRI is poised to transform the security industry, the judicial system, and our fundamental notions of privacy. I'm in a lab at Columbia University, where scientists are using the technology to analyze the cognitive differences between truth and lies. By mapping the neural circuits behind deception, researchers are turning fMRI into a new kind of lie detector that's more probing and accurate than the polygraph, the standard lie-detection tool employed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies for nearly a century.
posted by robbyrobs on Jan 5, 2006 - 62 comments

Sucked in! MRI scanners are hungry for any metal objects in the nearby vicinity, with hilarious and sometimes tragic results. The roughly 10,000 scanners in the United States are found not just in hospitals, but in storefront clinics and even mounted on trucks, making rounds of small hospitals or parking at malls to do scans for a fee.
posted by asok on Aug 20, 2005 - 50 comments

Sex in an MRI scanner shows that in the missionary position, the penis looks like a boomerang.
posted by agregoli on Apr 14, 2003 - 19 comments

You did what on an MRI machine?? [pdf]. Also included is the transcript of one of the 'participants' in this experiment.
(Friday fun - possibly NSFW)
posted by patrickje on Aug 9, 2002 - 20 comments

A slice of some guy's brain David created animations based on an MRI of his brain. They look cool. That's all. Link courtesy of TimT
posted by mecran01 on May 30, 2002 - 12 comments

Safety of MRI scans - annoying and temporary free registration required.
If movement whilst being scanned may not be safe, then what about the heart, lungs, blood and even a foetus? You can't keep those still.
Background: Of Mice & Magnets.
posted by southisup on May 26, 2002 - 12 comments

The Multi-Dimensional Human Embryo Project uses MRI techniques to produce nifty images and amazing movies (quicktime required) of what we all looked like when we were wee ones.
posted by gwint on Mar 26, 2002 - 1 comment

MRI machines -- I always knew they were dangerous, though I never imagined how.
posted by dfowler on Jul 31, 2001 - 13 comments