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Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 166 (1 March 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrn2599

Neuroimaging: Interpreting the signal

Leonie Welberg

It is assumed that the changes in blood flow measured during functional brain-imaging studies reflect changes in neural activity. Two recent studies that directly measured blood flow, blood oxygenation and neural activity in animals suggest that this assumption must be reconsidered at least in some circumstances.