The history of neuroimaging, began in the early 1900s with a technique called pneumoencephalography. This process involved draining the cerebrospinal fluid from around the brain and replacing it with air, altering the relative density of the brain and its surroundings, to cause it to show up better on an x-ray. It was considered to be incredibly unsafe for patients (Beaumont 8). A form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) were developed in the 1970s and 1980s. The new MRI and CT technologies were considerably less harmful and are explained in greater detail below. Next came SPECT and PET scans, which allowed scientists to map brain function because, unlike MRI and CT, these scans could create more than just static images of the brain's structure. Learning from MRI, PET and SPECT scanning, scientists were able to develop functional MRI (fMRI) with abilities that opened the door to direct observation of cognitive activities.
Read more about History Of Neuroimaging: Early Uses of Brain Imaging, Development of Modern Techniques, Multimodal Neuroimaging, Recent Breakthroughs
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