Hardcore fMRI: amplifying the quality and scale of fMRI data to learn new insights into human brain function

Neuroscience has witnessed the acquisition and open sharing of massive fMRI datasets that place intense emphasis on data quality and quantity in individual participants. These datasets strive for extensive sampling of cognitive phenomena. In contrast to conventional fMRI studies where data are typically noisy and sample a small number of experimental conditions, this new "hardcore" approach to fMRI enables a rich hypothesis space and supports detailed investigation of computational mechanisms at the single- voxel level. Hardcore fMRI has already sparked exciting discoveries in neuroscience and machine learning which would have been difficult to achieve with conventional fMRI. This perspective highlights the key features of hardcore fMRI and practical considerations of dataset creation, including ways to optimize data quality and achieve broad community impact. The growing proliferation of hardcore fMRI datasets is establishing a new research model where the potential integration of many large-scale datasets provides unprecedented opportunities for deciphering brain function.