Influences on the Test-Retest Reliability of Functional Connectivity MRI and its Relationship with Behavioral Utility

Best practices are currently being developed for the acquisition and processing of resting-state magnetic resonance imaging data used to estimate brain functional organization-or "functional connectivity." Standards have been proposed based on test-retest reliability, but open questions re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) N.Y. 1991), 2017-11, Vol.27 (11), p.5415-5429
Main Authors: Noble, Stephanie, Spann, Marisa N, Tokoglu, Fuyuze, Shen, Xilin, Constable, R Todd, Scheinost, Dustin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - physiology
Connectome - methods
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Statistical
Multivariate Analysis
Neural Pathways - diagnostic imaging
Neural Pathways - physiology
Original
Reproducibility of Results
Rest
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Summary:Best practices are currently being developed for the acquisition and processing of resting-state magnetic resonance imaging data used to estimate brain functional organization-or "functional connectivity." Standards have been proposed based on test-retest reliability, but open questions remain. These include how amount of data per subject influences whole-brain reliability, the influence of increasing runs versus sessions, the spatial distribution of reliability, the reliability of multivariate methods, and, crucially, how reliability maps onto prediction of behavior. We collected a dataset of 12 extensively sampled individuals (144 min data each across 2 identically configured scanners) to assess test-retest reliability of whole-brain connectivity within the generalizability theory framework. We used Human Connectome Project data to replicate these analyses and relate reliability to behavioral prediction. Overall, the historical 5-min scan produced poor reliability averaged across connections. Increasing the number of sessions was more beneficial than increasing runs. Reliability was lowest for subcortical connections and highest for within-network cortical connections. Multivariate reliability was greater than univariate. Finally, reliability could not be used to improve prediction; these findings are among the first to underscore this distinction for functional connectivity. A comprehensive understanding of test-retest reliability, including its limitations, supports the development of best practices in the field.
ISSN:1047-3211
1460-2199
DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhx230