Table 2.
Technique | Strenght | Limits |
PET | Relatively direct measure of brain activity | Ionizing, radioactive tracer, low spatial and temporal resolution expensive |
MRI | No use of ionizing. Permits both high resolution study of structural brain (DTI) and fMRI employing active, passive and resting state paradigms | Indirect measure of brain activity (functional) Sensitive to movement and artifacts, impractical (application precluded in patients with contraindication), expensive |
TMS-EEG | Practical (no important contraindications) gives information at single subject level | Sensitive to muscle artifacts |
PET: Positron emission tomography; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; TMS-EEG: Transcranial magnetic stimulation coupled with electroencephalography; DTI: Diffusion tensor imaging; fMRI: Functional magnetic resonance imaging.