← Back to Course Home

Week 01: Introduction & History

Welcome to the study of human neuroimaging. This week introduces the historical foundations of brain mapping—from early post-mortem lesion-deficit correlations to modern non-invasive tomography—and surveys the fundamental physical trade-offs in spatial and temporal resolution that govern all imaging modalities.

Interactive Demos & Activities

• Neuroimaging Dichotomous Key

  Interactive Decision Tree · Modality Selection

  Step through an interactive dichotomous key to differentiate neuroimaging modalities (CT, SPECT, PET, DSA, EEG, MEG, fMRI, structural MRI, fNIRS, and TCD) based on ionizing vs. non-ionizing radiation, tracers, electromagnetic sensors, and physical contrasts.

• Neuroimaging Perspectives: Clinical vs. Research

  Interactive Slide Deck · Conceptual Frameworks

  Explore how clinical radiologists and neuroscientists interpret brain scans differently: qualitative PACS workstations and single-patient pathology vs. quantitative group-level statistics and automated volumetric analysis in research.

• Diagnostic Incoming Self-Assessment Quiz

  Formative Assessment · Baseline Knowledge Check

  A quick pre-assessment quiz covering core neuroimaging modalities, signal sources, and spatial/temporal tradeoffs to evaluate your baseline knowledge.

• Diagnostic Test & Confusion Matrix Calculator

  Interactive Tool · Sensitivity, Specificity & PPV

  Manipulate sensitivity, specificity, and disease prevalence to visualize true/false positives and confusion matrices, demonstrating how pre-test probability impacts clinical imaging biomarkers.

Topics Covered

• The Spatiotemporal Map: Where each technique sits on the temporal (milliseconds to hours) versus spatial (micrometers to centimeters) spectrum.
• Direct vs. Indirect Measures: Electrical/magnetic dipole activity (EEG/MEG) versus hemodynamic/metabolic coupling (fMRI, PET, fNIRS).
• Invasive vs. Non-invasive: Structural anatomy, ionizing radiation limits, and ethical considerations in human research.