Voxel-based homogeneity probability maps of gray matter in groups: assessing the reliability of functional effects.
A subject of increasing importance in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the analysis of intersubject structural differences, particularly when comparing groups of subjects with different conditions or diagnoses. On the other hand, determining structural homogeneity across subjects using voxel-based morphological (VBM) methods has become even more important to investigators who test for group brain activation using functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) or positron emission tomography (PET). In the absence of methods that evaluate structural differences, one does not know how much reliability to assign to the functional differences. Here, we describe a voxel-based method for quantitatively assessing the homogeneity of tissues from structural magnetic resonance images of groups. Specifically, this method determines the homogeneity of gray matter for a group of subjects. Homogeneity probability maps (HPMs) of a given tissue type (e.g., gray matter) are generated by using a confidence interval based on binomial distribution. These maps indicate for each voxel the probability that the tissue type is gray for the population being studied. Therefore, HPMs can accompany functional analyses to indicate the confidence one can assign to functional difference at any given voxel. In this paper, examples of HPMs generated for a group of control subjects are shown and discussed. The application of this method to functional analysis is demonstrated.
Section for Brain Electrophysiology and Imaging, LCS, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1256, USA. rezam@nih.gov
Reza
R
Momenan
Robert
R
Rawlings
Grace
G
Fong
Brian
B
Knutson
Daniel
D
Hommer
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007206:Individuality; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011338:Probability Theory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D010100:Oxygen