Which technology is commonly used to study brain activity by measuring metabolic activity during music processing?

• A. MRI
• B. PET
• C. fMRI
• D. EEG

Answer: (B)

Metabolic activity imaging uses radiotracers to measure how much energy brain regions are using, showing where neurons are most active during a task. Positron emission tomography accomplishes this by using tracers like FDG to map glucose uptake across the brain, revealing metabolic activity.

In music processing studies, PET highlights which regions—such as the auditory cortex, higher auditory areas, and limbic/reward circuits—show increased metabolism when listening to or processing music. This direct readout of metabolic changes is why PET is the go-to choice for studying metabolic activity in this context.

Other methods provide different kinds of information. fMRI and MRI track blood flow and oxygenation changes linked to neural activity, but they measure hemodynamic rather than direct metabolic processes. EEG records electrical activity with excellent time resolution but does not directly measure metabolic activity.