Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (509 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Non-invasive methods of visualizing the central nervous system, especially the brain, by various imaging modalities.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Brain Imaging; Imaging, Brain.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Diagnostic Imaging; Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; Investigative Techniques
- Narrower topics
- Brain Cortical Thickness; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Functional Neuroimaging; Neuroradiography
Related concepts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 217,678 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Neuroimaging” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 45,935 of them (21.1%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 78,897 records.
Reviews account for 22,188 records (10.2%) and meta-analyses for 2,169. Randomized controlled trials number 3,034 (1.4%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 55,299 |
| 2000-2009 | 37,547 |
| 2010-2019 | 78,897 |
| 2020 onward | 45,935 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 22,188 | 10.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 2,169 | 1.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 3,034 | 1.4% |
Method: PubMed query "Neuroimaging"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in diagnostics and medical technology
A test or device is judged by how well it detects a condition, how often it gives false alarms or misses cases, and whether using it improves outcomes for people. Accuracy depends on who is tested and how common the condition is, so a test that performs well in a specialist hospital can perform differently in the community. Check the reference standard, the population studied, the sensitivity and specificity and whether results were confirmed in a separate group.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distributed control circuits across a brain-and-cord connectome | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 25 | cc by PMID 42259917 · DOI · PMC13518251 |
| Probing inter-areal computations with a two-photon holographic mesoscope | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 12 | cc by PMID 42547821 · DOI · PMC13433287 |
| From localization to distribution: revisiting the functional organization of the extrastriate body area | 2026 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 9 | cc by PMID 42423402 · DOI · PMC13347403 |
Distributed control circuits across a brain-and-cord connectome [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Just as genomes revolutionized molecular genetics, connectomes (maps of neurons and synapses) are transforming neuroscience.
- Closing excerpt
- These results reveal an architecture that is distributed, parallelized and embodied, reminiscent of distributed control architectures in engineered systems13,14.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (198 words)
Just as genomes revolutionized molecular genetics, connectomes (maps of neurons and synapses) are transforming neuroscience. To date, the only organisms with complete connectomes are worms1-3, sea squirts4 and comb jellies5 (103-104 synapses). By contrast, the fruit fly is more complex (108 synaptic connections), with a brain that supports learning and spatial memory6,7 and an intricate ventral nerve cord analogous to the vertebrate spinal cord8-12. Here we report a densely reconstructed adult fly connectome that unites the brain and ventral nerve cord, and we leverage this resource to investigate principles of neural control. We show that effector neurons (motor neurons, endocrine cells and efferent neurons targeting the viscera) are primarily influenced by sensory neurons in the same body part, forming local feedback loops. These local loops are linked by long-range circuits that involve ascending and descending neurons organized into behaviour-centric modules. Single ascending and descending neurons are often positioned to influence the voluntary movements of multiple body parts, together with the endocrine cells or visceral organs that support those movements. Brain regions involved in learning and navigation supervise these circuits. These results reveal an architecture that is distributed, parallelized and embodied, reminiscent of distributed control architectures in engineered systems13,14.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42259917 · DOI · PMC13518251
Probing inter-areal computations with a two-photon holographic mesoscope [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Brain computation depends on intricately connected yet highly distributed neural networks.
- Closing excerpt
- Thus, we have established mesoscale two-photon holographic optogenetics as a platform for mapping functional connectivity and causal interactions across distributed cortical areas with high resolution.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (111 words)
Brain computation depends on intricately connected yet highly distributed neural networks. Owing to the absence of the requisite technologies, causally testing fundamental hypotheses on inter-areal processing has remained largely out of reach. Here, we developed a two-photon holographic mesoscope capable of simultaneously reading and writing neural activity patterns with near-single-cell resolution across large regions of the mouse cortex. We demonstrate the precise photoactivation of spatial and temporal sequences of neurons in one or multiple cortical areas while reading out the downstream effects in several other regions. Thus, we have established mesoscale two-photon holographic optogenetics as a platform for mapping functional connectivity and causal interactions across distributed cortical areas with high resolution.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42547821 · DOI · PMC13433287
From localization to distribution: revisiting the functional organization of the extrastriate body area [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The extrastriate body area is a functional region of the human brain located in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex and was originally identified by its greater activation in response to images of human bodies compared with several other object categories.
- Closing excerpt
- This pleads in favor of orienting our understanding of the extrastriate body area toward the role of body perception in behavior.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (200 words)
The extrastriate body area is a functional region of the human brain located in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex and was originally identified by its greater activation in response to images of human bodies compared with several other object categories. In subsequent research, the extrastriate body area was associated with a wide range of cognitive functions and processes localized to a substantial portion of the posterior cortex. In this review, we summarize prior research on the extrastriate body area and examine evidence linking the region to various cognitive processes. We also review the coordinates reported in the literature to better characterize its anatomical location. In addition, we report results from a 3-T functional MRI localizer for the extrastriate body area using highly controlled dynamic stimuli. Our findings indicate that extrastriate body area localization can be strongly influenced by the type of localizer stimuli used, the tasks engaging the region, and participant characteristics. Overall, the literature suggests that the role of the extrastriate body area extends beyond the visual representation of the human body to encompass broader cognitive and affective processes. This pleads in favor of orienting our understanding of the extrastriate body area toward the role of body perception in behavior.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42423402 · DOI · PMC13347403
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article What Is the Test-Retest Reliability of Common Task-Functional MRI Measures? New Empirical Evidence and a Meta-Analysis [4]
- Research article A decade of test-retest reliability of functional connectivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Rumination and the default mode network: Meta-analysis of brain imaging studies and implications for depression [6]
- Research article Toward a hierarchical model of social cognition: A neuroimaging meta-analysis and integrative review of empathy and theory of mind [7]
- Research article Perivascular spaces and their associations with risk factors, clinical disorders and neuroimaging features: A systematic review and meta-analysis [8]
- Research article Visual mental imagery engages the left fusiform gyrus, but not the early visual cortex: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging evidence [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
A Systematic Review over the Effect of Early Infant Diet on Neurodevelopment: Insights from Neuroimaging
Dylan Gilbreath, Darcy Hagood, Linda Larson-Prior et al. · Nutrients 2024 · CC BY 4.0
Gray and white matter morphology in substance use disorders: a neuroimaging systematic review and meta-analysis
Victor Pando-Naude, Sebastian Toxto, Sofia Fernandez-Lozano et al. · Translational Psychiatry 2021 · CC BY 4.0
The nonhuman primate neuroimaging and neuroanatomy project
Takuya Hayashi, Yujie Hou, Matthew F Glasser et al. · NeuroImage 2021 · CC BY 4.0
Brainstem neuroimaging of nociception and pain circuitries
Vitaly Napadow, Roberta Sclocco, Luke A Henderson · Pain Reports 2019 · CC BY 4.0
A Systematic Review of Integrated Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Studies
Adrian Curtin, Shanbao Tong, Junfeng Sun et al. · Frontiers in Neuroscience 2019 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Bates AS, Phelps JS, Kim M, Yang HH, Matsliah A, Ajabi Z, et al.. Distributed control circuits across a brain-and-cord connectome. . 2026. PMID 42259917 · DOI · PMC13518251
- Abdeladim L, Jagadisan UK, Shin H, Ogando MB, Adesnik H. Probing inter-areal computations with a two-photon holographic mesoscope. . 2026. PMID 42547821 · DOI · PMC13433287
- Smekal V, Beckers LLM, Poyo Solanas M, de Gelder B. From localization to distribution: revisiting the functional organization of the extrastriate body area. . 2026. PMID 42423402 · DOI · PMC13347403
- Elliott ML, Knodt AR, Ireland D, Morris ML, Poulton R, Ramrakha S, et al.. What Is the Test-Retest Reliability of Common Task-Functional MRI Measures? New Empirical Evidence and a Meta-Analysis. Psychol Sci. 2020. PMID 32489141 · DOI · PMC7370246
- Noble S, Scheinost D, Constable RT. A decade of test-retest reliability of functional connectivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroimage. 2019. PMID 31494250 · DOI · PMC6907736
- Zhou HX, Chen X, Shen YQ, Li L, Chen NX, Zhu ZC, et al.. Rumination and the default mode network: Meta-analysis of brain imaging studies and implications for depression. Neuroimage. 2020. PMID 31655111 · DOI
- Schurz M, Radua J, Tholen MG, Maliske L, Margulies DS, Mars RB, et al.. Toward a hierarchical model of social cognition: A neuroimaging meta-analysis and integrative review of empathy and theory of mind. Psychol Bull. 2021. PMID 33151703 · DOI
- Francis F, Ballerini L, Wardlaw JM. Perivascular spaces and their associations with risk factors, clinical disorders and neuroimaging features: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Stroke. 2019. PMID 30762496 · DOI
- Spagna A, Hajhajate D, Liu J, Bartolomeo P. Visual mental imagery engages the left fusiform gyrus, but not the early visual cortex: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging evidence. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021. PMID 33422567 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.