Could an MRI scanner reveal more than the brain’s anatomy? At Massachusetts General Hospital in Massachusetts, Kenneth Kwong and colleagues used rapid MRI scanning to detect changes associated with brain activation.
Their study, published on June 15, 1992, showed that visual stimulation produced measurable changes in the visual cortex. The technique exploited changes in blood oxygenation and flow accompanying neural activity, without requiring an injected contrast agent.
Alongside independent work by other research groups, these experiments helped establish functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. Researchers could now investigate which brain regions responded during particular tasks, using repeated scans of the living brain.
The images did not directly photograph thoughts or individual neurons firing. They measured a physiological response associated with neural activity, creating a powerful new tool for studying human brain function.
Last Updated on October 19, 2026 | Published: October 19, 2026