Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Whole-brain Segmentation and Change-point Analysis of Anatomical Brain MRI—Application in Premanifest Huntington's Disease
Published on: June 9, 2018
Pitfalls in the use of voxel-based morphometry as a biomarker: examples from huntington disease
S M D Henley1, G R Ridgway, R I Scahill
1Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, United Kingdom.
Background And Purpose:
VBM is increasingly used in the study of neurodegeneration, and recently there has been interest in its potential as a biomarker. However, although it is largely "automated," VBM is rarely implemented consistently across studies, and changing user-specified options can alter the results in a way similar to the very biologic differences under investigation.
Materials And Methods:
This work uses data from patients with HD to demonstrate the effects of several user-specified VBM parameters and analyses: type and level of statistical correction, modulation, smoothing kernel size, adjustment for brain size, subgroup analysis, and software version.
Results:
The results demonstrate that changing these options can alter results in a way similar to the biologic differences under investigation.
Conclusions:
If VBM is to be useful clinically or considered for use as a biomarker, there is a need for greater recognition of these issues and more uniformity in its application for the method to be both reproducible and valid.
