You do not need to have any specific preparation for the course. It is designed as an introduction to fMRI.
However, the course moves rapidly, and much of the information will also be appropriate for advanced users.
Course materials will be made available prior to the course for enrolled attendees, including:
Toolboxes - SPM, Gift, CANlab tools, SnPM, and more
Sample fMRI datasets
Walkthrough "cheat sheets"
Short demonstration videos
Trial copy of Matlab
For those who would like more pre-course readings, we recommend the following chapters and papers.
Wager, T. D. & Lindquist, M. A. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the key concepts involved in current fMRI acquisition and analysis. Available online at https://leanpub.com/principlesoffmri.
V. D. Calhoun and T. Adalı, "Multi-subject Independent Component Analysis of fMRI: A Decade of Intrinsic Networks, Default Mode, and Neurodiagnostic Discovery," IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 5, pp. 60-73, 2012
E. Erhardt, S. Rachakonda, E. Bedrick, T. Adalı, and V. D. Calhoun, "Comparison of multi-subject ICA methods for analysis of fMRI data," Human Brain Mapping, vol. 12, pp. 2075-2095, 2011
V. D. Calhoun, R. Miller, G. D. Pearlson, and T. Adalı, "The chronnectome: Time-varying connectivity networks as the next frontier in fMRI data discovery," Neuron, vol. 84, pp. 262-274, 2014
Wager, T. D., Hernandez, L., Jonides, J., & Lindquist, M. (2007). "Elements of functional neuroimaging," J. T. Cacioppo, L. G. Tassinary & G.G. Berntson (Eds.), Handbook of Psychophysiology (4th ed., pp. 19-55). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press."
Wager. T. D., Lindquist, M., and Hernandez, L. (2009). "Essentials of functional neuroimaging," Handbook of Neuroscience for the Behavioral Sciences.
Wager, T. D., & Lindquist, M. A. (2011). "Essentials of functional magnetic resonance imaging," Handbook of Social Neuroscience.
Lindquist, M. A. & Wager, T. D. (2014) "Principles of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging," Handbook of Neuroimaging Data Analysis. London: Chapman & Hall, CRC Press.
(Find links to Prof. Wager's suggested readings here):
https://sites.dartmouth.edu/canlab/training-courses/