Neurosalience #S1E16 with D. Kullmann, and V. Calhoun - A critical look at the field of fMRI

This podcast idea was precipitated by Dimitri Kullman’s 2020 editorial in Brain, causing a stir in the community. It levelled criticism about the clinical validity of fMRI. Some of it was outdated but some was indeed on point.  In this podcast we had a great discussion on all things fMRI -  what it can and cannot measure, and how it can continue to proceed. We also discuss some of the scientific culture surrounding fMRI. Overall, the discussion was useful in bringing some of the flaws as well as some of the outstanding innovations to light. We ended up agreeing that fMRI is in fact, an extremely useful tool that allows penetrating insight into the brain at a specific temporal and spatial scale. We feel that there is still considerable hope yet also considerable challenge in increasing its clinical relevance.

Guests: 

Dr. Dimitri Kullmann is a professor of Neurology at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

Dr. Vince Calhoun is the director, since 2019, of Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), which includes three universities: Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and Emory.