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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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I'm auditing a class called "Introduction to fMRI." We are using a freeware digital imaging program called FSL (supposedly pronounced "fossil.") Disclaimer in case anyone winds up here because they are looking for actual neuroscience: I'm not a scientist and I don't have a fucking clue what I am doing! Homework: Find the maximal dimensions of the brain along each of the three cardinal axes (front–back, left–right, and top–bottom). Based on your measures of brain dimensions, estimate the total volume of the brain. Because the brain is not a rectangular prism, you will have to make assumptions about its shape within your calculations.  AXIAL VIEW • left–right at widest points: 13.4 cm  SAGGITAL VIEW • front-back at longest points: 16.3 cm  CORONAL VIEW • top-bottom at highest & lowest points: 10.7 cm I calculated the volume as if it was box, using the slices to get the maximum measurements of length, width & depth. I estimated that the area at the bottom/back (cerebellum, etc) is about 1/6 of the total, and about the same amount is missing from the bottom front. So I subtracted 1/6 from the total. 
Then I visualized/guessed that if I had a box built to my new dimensions the brain would probably fill about 80% of it. So I took 80% of my new total and it came to 1552 cc.  I looked up average brain volumes on the internet and apparently they tend to be between 1300 and 1500 cc. So I'm thinking 80% was probably a bit too generous. OMG I love this class! But thank Christ I don't have to hand in my work. |