John Medina sheds light on how the interpretion of results from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technologies.

"The inspiration for the series came as I was reading a magazine article while waiting for a plane to take off—my reaction to what I read may have resulted in a bit of trauma to the seat pocket in front of me."

Here then, are 6 things to keep in mind.

Item to Keep in Mind #1

You are always looking at machine-selected populations.

Item to Keep in Mind #2

Resolution issues can be a problem.

Item to Keep in Mind #3

Watch out for the edges.

Item to Keep in Mind #4

Machine time and brain time may not be the same thing.

Item to Keep in Mind #5

Every brain is wired differently.

Item to Keep in Mind #6

Be mindful of the dangers of reverse inference.

Read and learn more:

Functional MRI, Round 3: Six Items to Keep in Mind