sciatrix: A thumbnail from an Escher print, black and white, of a dragon with its tail in its mouth, wing outstretched behind. (Default)
sciatrix ([personal profile] sciatrix) wrote2017-12-16 11:38 pm
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Dear ‘subclinical psychopathy’ book:

A fMRI is not a “real-time brain scan.” It’s an attempt to understand neuronal activity by measuring small changes in blood flow within the brain and hoping these closely follow increased brain activity, usually in the form of action potentials. It is at best a proxy of brain activity, not a direct measure, which is primarily popular because it is minimally invasive.

Folks who represent fMRIs as magic indications of precise brain activity over time is a large part of why I hate dealing with them. STOPPIT.

No love,

sci
jesse_the_k: text: Be kinder than need be: everyone is fighting some kind of battle (Helena (OB) eats)

[personal profile] jesse_the_k 2018-12-09 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my god yes.

I rely on real scientists like you, and even I know that fMRI shows blood flow, and we don't know what blood flow means