Amplitude of low frequency fluctuations

Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations (f/ALFF) are neuroimaging methods used to measure spontaneous fluctuations in BOLD-fMRI signal intensity for a given region in the resting brain. Electrophysiological studies suggest that low-frequency oscillations arise from spontaneous neuronal activity. Though ALFFs have been researched extensively in fMRI based theoretical models of brain function, their actual significance is still unknown.^[1]

Default mode network

Whole-brain ALFF shows greater signal in posterior cingulate, precuneus, and medial prefrontal areas of the default mode network,^[2] but also in non-cortical areas near the ventricles, cisterns and large blood vessels. f/ALFF reduces the sensitivity of ALFF to physiological noise by taking the ratio of each frequency (0.01-0.08 Hz) to the total frequency range (0-0.25 Hz).^[3] Both measures have been investigated as part of reliable biomarkers^{[citation needed]} for many neurological conditions including schizophrenia,^{[citation needed]} anorexia nervosa,^[4] and ADHD^{[citation needed]}.