MRI and Neuroimaging in Psychology

What is the primary focus of studying cognitive processes?

What is the purpose of gradients in MRI?

What is the term often used to refer to hydrogen atoms in MRI scanners?

What happens when the frequency of the RF pulse matches the precession frequency of the protons?

What happens to the alignment of protons in a strong externally applied magnetic field?

What is the result of measuring signals during the relaxation phase?

What is the purpose of functional MRI in psychology?

What is the purpose of using T1, T2, and proton density in MRI?

What is the term for the time constant indicating how long the transversal decay takes?

What is the purpose of the radio frequency pulse in MRI?

What is the first effect of the RF pulse on protons?

What is the term for the process of protons 'precessing' about an axis?

What is the term for the process of protons returning to their original state?

What is the term for the frequency at which protons absorb energy from the RF pulse?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Protons in a magnetic field are aligned parallel or anti-parallel to the magnetic field (B0)
The frequency of the radio frequency (RF) pulse must match the precession frequency of the protons to affect them
Relaxation occurs in two stages: T1 recovery and T2 decay
Gradients are used to reconstruct the signal space and determine the location of the signal in the brain
MRI studies have various parameters that can be adjusted to obtain different types of images

Reconstructing Brain Images

Gradients are used to vary the magnetic field linearly, causing the resonance frequency to vary throughout the brain
An RF pulse of a specific frequency will only excite one slice of the brain, where the resonance frequency of the protons matches the frequency of the RF pulse
T2 decay is the transversal magnetization decay, which is an independent process and occurs faster than T1 recovery
T2 decay is different for different tissues

Neuroimaging in Psychology

Functional MRI (fMRI) is used to study cognitive processes, not the brain itself
The brain is studied to gain a better understanding of cognitive processes, as it "computes" these processes
Neuroimaging methods, including fMRI, are used to understand the neural basis of cognition

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

NMR refers to the atomic nucleus, which contains protons and neutrons
More than 70% of the human brain consists of water, which contains hydrogen atoms (H+ protons)
These protons can be thought of as small bar magnets, precessing like a spinning top about an axis

This quiz covers the basics of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and its application in neuroimaging, specifically in the field of psychology. Topics include proton behavior in magnetic fields, radio frequency pulses, and relaxation processes.