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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Making MR Imaging Child's Play - Pediatric Neuroimaging Protocol, Guidelines and Procedure
Published on: July 30, 2009
Reprint of: Minimizing noise in pediatric task-based functional MRI; Adolescents with developmental disabilities and
Catherine Fassbender1, Prerona Mukherjee2, Julie B Schweitzer2
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, United States; UC Davis MIND Institute, United States; UC Davis Imaging Research Center, United States.
Insights
Minimizing head motion in pediatric functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is crucial for accurate brain studies. This research offers strategies before, during, and after data acquisition to reduce noise in children with and without developmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Pediatric Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is vital for studying pediatric brain development and disorders.
- fMRI data is vulnerable to misinterpretation from noise, particularly head motion.
- Imaging children, especially those with developmental disorders, presents unique challenges including hyperactivity and attention deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present methods for minimizing movement-related noise in pediatric fMRI.
- To enhance the reliability and consistency of neuroimaging research in children.
- To address challenges in acquiring high-quality fMRI data from pediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- Focus on strategies implemented pre-scan, during acquisition, and post-acquisition to reduce noise.
- Investigate the impact of experimental design, participant screening, and pre-scan training on head motion.
- Discuss data processing techniques for identifying and removing noise.
Main Results:
- Pre-scan training and careful screening can significantly impact head motion in pediatric fMRI.
- Specific strategies during data acquisition can further minimize movement artifacts.
- Post-acquisition processing aids in noise identification and removal.
Conclusions:
- Implementing a multi-faceted approach to noise reduction is essential for robust pediatric fMRI research.
- Continued advancements in pediatric neuroimaging require careful consideration of motion-related artifacts.
- Standardized methods for minimizing noise will improve consistency across studies involving children with developmental disorders.
Abstract:
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) represents a powerful tool with which to examine brain functioning and development in typically developing pediatric groups as well as children and adolescents with clinical disorders. However, fMRI data can be highly susceptible to misinterpretation due to the effects of excessive levels of noise, often related to head motion. Imaging children, especially with developmental disorders, requires extra considerations related to hyperactivity, anxiety and the ability to perform and maintain attention to the fMRI paradigm. We discuss a number of methods that can be employed to minimize noise, in particular movement-related noise. To this end we focus on strategies prior to, during and following the data acquisition phase employed primarily within our own laboratory. We discuss the impact of factors such as experimental design, screening of potential participants and pre-scan training on head motion in our adolescents with developmental disorders and typical development. We make some suggestions that may minimize noise during data acquisition itself and finally we briefly discuss some current processing techniques that may help to identify and remove noise in the data. Many advances have been made in the field of pediatric imaging, particularly with regard to research involving children with developmental disorders. Mindfulness of issues such as those discussed here will ensure continued progress and greater consistency across studies.
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