Experimental Design

This chapter addresses issues particular to the optimal design of fMRI experiments. It describes procedures for isolating the psychological process of interest and gives an overview of block, event-related, and participant-response dependent designs. An additional focus is placed on data analysis with emphasis on optimizing and isolating the neuroimaging signal in activated brain regions. Finally, the chapter addresses a number of practical matters including optimal sample sizes and trial durations that confront all researchers when designing their experiments.