Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) can reveal important aspects of human brain function even in the absence of a measurable, observable, behavioral response. For example, the multiple visual areas of human cortex can be mapped while a subject passively views the appropriate visual patterns, with no required behavioral response. But overt behavioral responses can be used to make fMRI a much more powerful tool than it would be without them. For example, experiments in the formation of memory make critical use of behavioral data collected long after the subject is out of the MR scanner. Studies of the effects of cocaine on brain function depend on the subject's being able to report subjective experiences while being scanned. In these studies the behavioral data is required to analyze and interpret the imaging data. Meeting the practical challenges in the collection of various behavioral responses (e.g., overt speech) in the context of MR imaging is rewarded by more powerful and flexible experimental designs. The speaker will describe some of the accomplishments of the past and speculate on the future advances in measuring behavior during MR imaging, and using that behavioral data to increase the power of fMRI.

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