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Li X, Bianchini Esper N, Ai L, Giavasis S, Jin H, Feczko E, Xu T, Clucas J, Franco A, Sólon Heinsfeld A, Adebimpe A, Vogelstein JT, Yan CG, Esteban O, Poldrack RA, Craddock C, Fair D, Satterthwaite T, Kiar G, Milham MP. Moving beyond processing- and analysis-related variation in resting-state functional brain imaging. Nat Hum Behav 2024:10.1038/s41562-024-01942-4. [PMID: 39103610 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01942-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
When fields lack consensus standard methods and accessible ground truths, reproducibility can be more of an ideal than a reality. Such has been the case for functional neuroimaging, where there exists a sprawling space of tools and processing pipelines. We provide a critical evaluation of the impact of differences across five independently developed minimal preprocessing pipelines for functional magnetic resonance imaging. We show that, even when handling identical data, interpipeline agreement was only moderate, critically shedding light on a factor that limits cross-study reproducibility. We show that low interpipeline agreement can go unrecognized until the reliability of the underlying data is high, which is increasingly the case as the field progresses. Crucially we show that, when interpipeline agreement is compromised, so too is the consistency of insights from brain-wide association studies. We highlight the importance of comparing analytic configurations, because both widely discussed and commonly overlooked decisions can lead to marked variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinhui Li
- Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Lei Ai
- Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Eric Feczko
- Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Ting Xu
- Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Alexandre Franco
- Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | | | - Azeez Adebimpe
- Penn Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Joshua T Vogelstein
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Chao-Gan Yan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Oscar Esteban
- Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Cameron Craddock
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Damien Fair
- Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Theodore Satterthwaite
- Penn Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Michael P Milham
- Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA.
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
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Botvinik-Nezer R, Wager TD. Reproducibility in Neuroimaging Analysis: Challenges and Solutions. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:780-788. [PMID: 36906444 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Recent years have marked a renaissance in efforts to increase research reproducibility in psychology, neuroscience, and related fields. Reproducibility is the cornerstone of a solid foundation of fundamental research-one that will support new theories built on valid findings and technological innovation that works. The increased focus on reproducibility has made the barriers to it increasingly apparent, along with the development of new tools and practices to overcome these barriers. Here, we review challenges, solutions, and emerging best practices with a particular emphasis on neuroimaging studies. We distinguish 3 main types of reproducibility, discussing each in turn. Analytical reproducibility is the ability to reproduce findings using the same data and methods. Replicability is the ability to find an effect in new datasets, using the same or similar methods. Finally, robustness to analytical variability refers to the ability to identify a finding consistently across variation in methods. The incorporation of these tools and practices will result in more reproducible, replicable, and robust psychological and brain research and a stronger scientific foundation across fields of inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rotem Botvinik-Nezer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
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