SPM12

SPM12 is a MATLAB-based software package for the analysis of functional and structural brain imaging data. It is the twelfth major release of the Statistical Parametric Mapping software and is developed and maintained by the Wellcome Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London (UCL) and collaborators. SPM12 supports common neuroimaging modalities, including functional MRI (fMRI), structural MRI (sMRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). It provides a unified framework for preprocessing, statistical modeling, inference, and visualization of brain imaging data.

Its preprocessing suite includes realignment (motion correction), slice timing, co-registration, normalization to standardized space (MNI), segmentation of structural images into tissue classes, and spatial smoothing. A key feature is the unified segmentation and DARTEL-based normalization for high-dimensional warping. The statistical analysis follows the general linear model (GLM) at the first level (within-subject) and a random-effects second-level analysis across participants. SPM also supports various inference approaches, multiple comparisons correction (e.g., FWE, FDR), and nonparametric options via permutation tests. In addition, SPM provides voxel-based morphometry (VBM) pipelines for structural analyses and tools for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and M/EEG data through specialized toolboxes.

SPM12 is cross-platform and runs within MATLAB on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is distributed as a freely available toolbox with a graphical user interface and a batch system for scripting analyses. Documentation and tutorials are provided by the developers and user community, covering typical workflows from data preparation to result reporting.