Multivariate decoding of fMRI data

Abstract

Abstract The advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of brain function 20 years ago has provided a new methodology for non-in­vasive measurement of brain function that is now widely used in cognitive neurosci­ence. Traditionally, fMRI data has been an­alyzed looking for overall activity chang­es in brain regions in response to a stimu­lus or a cognitive task. Now, recent develop­ments have introduced more elaborate, con­tent-based analysis techniques. When mul­tivariate decoding is applied to the detailed patterning of regionally-specific fMRI signals, it can be used to assess the amount of infor­mation these encode about specific task-vari­ables. Here we provide an overview of sev­eral developments, spanning from applica­tions in cognitive neuroscience (perception, attention, reward, decision making, emotion­al communication) to methodology (informa­tion flow, surface-based searchlight decod­ing) and medical diagnostics.