¥ Write down a mathematical model connecting stimulus (or ÒactivationÓ)
to signal
¥ Write down a statistical model for the noise
¥ Combine them to produce an equation for measurements given
signal+noise
H Equation will have unknown parameters,
which are to be estimated from
the data
H N.B.: signal may have zero strength
¥ Use statistical detection theory to produce an algorithm for processing
the measurements to assess signal presence and
characteristics
H e.g., least squares fit of model
parameters to data