Linking MRI to daily life experience: the example of poststroke depression

The state-of-the-art tools of neurology, in particular modern neuroimaging techniques, have yet to benefit from the revolution in mobile technologies that provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying clinical syndromes. This study demonstrates the manner in which mobile technologies may provide information that is complementary to MRI data, using the illustration of poststroke depression.

MRI examinations were provided to 15 stroke patients, followed by computerized ambulatory monitoring of daily life experiences over 1 week.

The occurrence of daily life events was significantly associated with the intensity of positive affect during the ambulatory monitoring period. This emotional reactivity was also significantly associated with functional connectivity in brain regions linked with the risk of depression 3 months following stroke.

Novel mobile technologies provide information that is inaccessible to hospital-based tests, and allow for more complete investigations of disorder expression and etiology.