How to See What you are Looking For in fMRI and PET – or the Crucial Baseline Condition

The conditions of eyes open or eyes closed in complete darkness have served as REST in human brain imaging studies. However, the mere transition from lid closed to lid open could theoretically cause non-trivial differential effects on brain activity without there being any change in external sensory stimulation or behavioral tasks. As a matter of fact, the lid drives the brain to regularly and repeatedly activate different cortical networks. The ocular-motor and attentional systems were activated when the eyes were open; in contrast, the visual, somatosensory, vestibular, and auditory systems were activated when…