Table 1. The most common direct and... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

The most common direct and indirect neuroimaging methods applied in consumer neuroscience and cognate research

Neuroimaging method	Advantages	Disadvantages	Related studies	Mobile applicability
Electromagnetic neuroimaging methods
Magnetencephalography MEG Registration of changes in magnetic streams elicited by the electrophysical signal of neurons	+ Good temporal resolution (neural activity changes can be measured in s) + Non-invasive	– High measurement costs – Relatively complicated data analysis – Poor spatial resolution (limited potential to localise brain activity on the cortex)	Ioannides et al. (2000), Zaltman and Kosslyn (2000), Boto et al. (2018)	Partial
Electroencephalography EEG Measurement of voltage fluctuations at the surface of the cortex	+ Good temporal resolution (neural-activity changes can be measured in ms) + Moderate equipment costs + Relatively uncomplicated data analysis + Non-invasive	– Poor spatial resolution (limited potential to localise brain activity on the cortex) – Relatively complicated data collection	Boksem and Smidts (2015), Harris et al. (2018); Müller-Putz et al. (2015)	Partial
Metabolic neuroimaging methods
Positron-Emission-Tomography PET Nuclear medical technique for analysing indirect, metabolic processes in neurons	+ Good spatial resolution (neural activity of the whole brain can be measured and localised)	– Very poor temporal resolution (compared to EEG) – Invasive	Harris et al. (2018)	No
Functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI Measurement of indirect, metabolic activity using the magnetic properties of blood (the BOLD signal)	+ Very good spatial resolution (neural activity of the whole brain can be measured and localised) + Non-invasive	– High measurement costs – Relatively complicated data analysis – Poor temporal resolution (compared to EEG)	Dimoka and Davies (2008), Dimoka (2010), Falk et al. (2016), Hubert et al. (2018), Kenning et al. (2007), Ogawa et al. (1990)	No

Neuroimaging method	Advantages	Disadvantages	Related studies	Mobile applicability
Electromagnetic neuroimaging methods
Magnetencephalography MEGRegistration of changes in magnetic streams elicited by the electrophysical signal of neurons	+ Good temporal resolution(neural activity changes can be measured in s)+ Non-invasive	– High measurement costs– Relatively complicated data analysis– Poor spatial resolution (limited potential to localise brain activity on the cortex)	Ioannides et al. (2000), Zaltman and Kosslyn (2000), Boto et al. (2018)	Partial
Electroencephalography EEGMeasurement of voltage fluctuations at the surface of the cortex	+ Good temporal resolution (neural-activity changes can be measured in ms)+ Moderate equipment costs+ Relatively uncomplicated data analysis+ Non-invasive	– Poor spatial resolution (limited potential to localise brain activity on the cortex)– Relatively complicated data collection	Boksem and Smidts (2015), Harris et al. (2018); Müller-Putz et al. (2015)	Partial
Metabolic neuroimaging methods
Positron-Emission-Tomography PETNuclear medical technique for analysing indirect, metabolic processes in neurons	+ Good spatial resolution(neural activity of the whole brain can be measured and localised)	– Very poor temporal resolution (compared to EEG)– Invasive	Harris et al. (2018)	No
Functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRIMeasurement of indirect, metabolic activity using the magnetic properties of blood (the BOLD signal)	+ Very good spatial resolution(neural activity of the whole brain can be measured and localised)+ Non-invasive	– High measurement costs– Relatively complicated data analysis– Poor temporal resolution (compared to EEG)	Dimoka and Davies (2008), Dimoka (2010), Falk et al. (2016), Hubert et al. (2018), Kenning et al. (2007), Ogawa et al. (1990)	No