Jeremy F. Magland1, Ze Wang2,
Daniel Willard2, Anna Rose Childress2,3
1Department of Radiology, University of
Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States; 2Department
of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA,
United States; 3VA VISN 4 MIRECC, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Recent
studies demonstrate that functional MRI subjects can learn to control
activity in localized areas of the brain through the use of real-time fMRI
feedback. Potential implications of this technology include a variety of
therapies, such as pain management for patients suffering from chronic pain,
and craving suppression in individuals with addictions. Whereas much is known
about which specific brain regions to target in the case of pain management,
less is known about which regions impact craving in addicted individuals. To
address this challenge, we have implemented a real-time feedback system based
on whole-brain classification.