Voxel-based morphometry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Voxel based morphometry (VBM) is a neuroimaging analysis technique that allows investigation of focal differences in brain volume. Traditionally, brain volume is measured by drawing regions of interest (ROIs) and calculating the volume enclosed. However, this is time consuming and can only provide measures of large areas. Smaller differences in volume may be overlooked. VBM registers every brain to a template, which gets rid of most of the large differences in brain anatomy among people. Then the brain images are smoothed so that each voxel represents the average of itself and its neighbors. Finally, volume is compared across brains at every voxel.