Introduction to fMRI 2500-EN-CS-EM-03
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The course integrates theoretical background with practical training, enabling students to understand both how fMRI works and how it is applied in contemporary cognitive neuroscience research.
Students will develop a solid understanding of the physiological and methodological foundations of fMRI, including the origin and interpretation of the BOLD signal, spatial and temporal resolution, and the relationship between neural activity and measured hemodynamic responses. Particular attention is paid to resting-state fMRI, including the conceptual framework of functional connectivity, common analytical approaches, and their neuroscientific interpretation.
Through hands-on laboratory sessions, students will gain practical skills in working with fMRI data. They will learn how to design simple fMRI experiments, and perform essential preprocessing and analysis steps using standard neuroimaging software. The course emphasizes critical thinking about data quality, sources of noise and artifacts, and the assumptions underlying different analysis methods.
Learning activities:
Lectures and guided discussions, complemented by hands-on workshops in which students independently perform basic fMRI/resting-state analyses. Students prepare short reports and deliver oral presentations of their results with feedback.
Learning outcomes
By completing the course, students will be able to confidently use fMRI terminology in the context of examining the human brain and its functions (K_W01, K_W02, K_W05), independently conduct data analyses (K_U06, K_U08), and interpret fMRI results reported in scientific literature. They will also understand the strengths and limitations of fMRI as a research tool (K_W03), allowing them to critically evaluate empirical findings and make informed methodological choices in their own research projects (K_U03, K_U04). Overall, the course equips students with foundational competencies necessary for further work in neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience, and related interdisciplinary fields.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Understand and use core fMRI terminology, including concepts related to acquisition, preprocessing, statistical modeling, and functional connectivity (e.g., BOLD, TR/TE, motion artifacts, GLM, ROI, seed-based connectivity, ICA).
Explain the principles, advantages, and limitations of fMRI, including common sources of noise and bias, interpretational constraints of the BOLD signal, and practical considerations in study planning.
Design simple fMRI studies, including formulating research questions, selecting appropriate paradigms (task-based vs. resting-state), defining hypotheses.
Conduct basic fMRI data preprocessing and analysis, including quality control, motion assessment, spatial normalization, and first steps in statistical inference and connectivity analysis.
Interpret and critically evaluate fMRI results, including reading and assessing figures and reports, understanding what conclusions are justified, and recognizing typical pitfalls (e.g., multiple comparisons, circular analysis, confounds in connectivity measures).
Communicate findings clearly, using appropriate neuroimaging conventions for reporting methods and results.
Assessment criteria
a) Assessment methods: Final assessment is based on an oral research report (presentation) and a written final test (colloquium).
b) Components of the final grade and their weights: research report 50%; exam - 50%
c) Grading scale
over 50%: 3
over 60%: 3+
over 70%: 4,
over 80%: 4+
over 90%: 5
d) Requirements for retaking the assessment: not applicable
e) Exams in the exam session
i) Requirements for taking the exam: not applicable
ii) Possibility (and requirements) for retaking the exam in case of a positive grade: tests cannot be retaken in case of a positive grade
iii) Early Exam Session (“Zerówka”): not applicable
Attendance rules:
Two unexcused absences are allowed (eg. 3h). The 3rd unexcused absence may result in lowering the grade. More than three unexcused absences is equivalent to the course failure.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: