When designing an fMRI study, which would be the best strategy for isolating the neural activity associated with the vocal component of reading a word from other potential actions related to reading?
A) Compare fMRI scans of a subject silently reading a word and of reading the word aloud.
B) Compare fMRI scans of a subject looking at a picture that is related to a word and of reading the word aloud.
C) Compare a PET scan of a subject reading a word aloud to an fMRI scan of a subject reading the same word aloud.
D) Perform an fMRI scan of the participant as he is talking to a friend, noting the level of brain activity when he uses the target word.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Comparing fMRI scans of a subject silently reading a word and of reading the word aloud would be the best strategy for isolating the neural activity associated with the vocal component of reading a word from other potential actions related to reading. This approach would allow researchers to directly compare the neural activity associated with the two conditions and identify regions specific to vocal production. Option B involves a visual stimulus, which could confound the results, while option C involves using a PET scan, which has lower spatial resolution than fMRI. Option D is unrelated to the task of reading and would not provide useful information about the neural activity during the vocal component of reading a word.

When Designing an FMRI Study, Which Would Be the Best