fMRI

American  

abbreviation

Medicine/Medical.

1. Also called functional MRI.  functional magnetic resonance imaging: a procedure that uses MRI technology to measure and map brain activity by detecting changes in the brain’s blood flow and oxygenation.

2. functional magnetic resonance imager: a type of MRI scanner that is used in this procedure.

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FMRI British  

abbreviation

1. functional magnetic resonance imaging: a technique that directly measures the blood flow in the brain, thereby providing information on brain activity

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FMRI Cultural  

1. Abbreviation for f unctional m agnetic r esonance i maging. In FMRI, a patient is placed in a high magnetic field and delicate measurements of magnetic fields associated with processes like blood flow are made. In this way, the functioning of organs like the brain can be monitored as they occur. (Compare MRI.)

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FMRI images are used to determined which parts of the brain “light up” when a function such as speech or recognition is performed.

Example Sentences

In a separate study, published in Communications Biology in 2022, researchers put squirrels into fMRI scanners—tracking blood flow in the brain to reveal which regions are active and how they communicate with one another.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2026

The team used a specialized version of fMRI that could track both blood oxygen levels and the movement of CSF in and out of the brain.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

However, using an fMRI machine is considered the gold standard for mapping brain function, said Dr. Tristan Yates, a cognitive neuroscientist at Columbia University who studies perception and memory in early life.

From Salon • May 7, 2025

Yet with the help of some TV, attentive parents and a lot of patience, researchers have designed protocols that help them keep babies awake and still in an fMRI machine.

From Salon • May 7, 2025

A few weeks later, after technicians and Dr. Watson in Utah had taken the time to process the rest of the fMRI results, I again visited Dr. Gazzaley’s office.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel