Direct detection of neural activity by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been a longstanding goal in neuroscience. A recent study argued that it is possible to detect neuroelectrical potentials using a specialized fMRI scanning approach the authors termed “direct imaging of neuronal activity” (DIANA). We implemented DIANA in anesthetized rats and measured responses to somatosensory stimulation, reproducing core findings of the original study. We show, however, that neural activity is neither sufficient nor necessary to produce such results. We use a combination of control conditions and simulations to demonstrate that DIANA signals can arise from nonideal aspects of the pulse sequence and specimen that help determine spatiotemporal characteristics of the data. Our analysis emphasizes a need for cautious interpretation and mechanistic evaluation of advanced fMRI techniques.

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对 DIANA fMRI 信号的不同解释

通过功能磁共振成像（fMRI）直接检测神经活动一直是神经科学的长期目标。最近的一项研究认为，使用作者称之为“神经元活动直接成像”（DIANA）的专门功能磁共振成像扫描方法可以检测神经电势。我们在麻醉大鼠中实施了 DIANA，并测量了对体感刺激的反应，再现了原始研究的核心发现。然而，我们表明，神经活动对于产生这样的结果既不充分也没有必要。我们结合使用控制条件和模拟来证明 DIANA 信号可能来自脉冲序列和样本的非理想方面，这有助于确定数据的时空特征。我们的分析强调需要对先进的功能磁共振成像技术进行谨慎的解释和机制评估。