ADVANCES IN FUNCTIONAL BRAIN IMAGING: A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY FOR ENGINEERS AND PHYSICAL SCIENTISTS.

Functional brain imaging allows the measure of dynamic functionality in all brain regions. It has highly impacted the clinical and research cognitive neuroscience since its imaging techniques allow the observation of neural activities in the brain simultaneously. In an earlier era when functional brain mapping was initiated by phrenologists, many scientists questioned the utility of functional mapping given the wealth of structural information. Today, we know that functional brain information can inform and extend structural information, leading to a more complete understanding of brain activity. This review paper, which is designed be useful to those who have an interest in functional brain imaging, such as engineers or physical scientists, will present a review of non-invasive modalities used in functional brain imaging. This work will also concentrate on established techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as emerging techniques such as functional optical imaging.