Functional brain connectivity in resting-state fMRI using phase and magnitude data.

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Brain Function Analysis

Background:

• Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) yields both magnitude and phase data.
• While magnitude data is standard, phase data offers insights into the internal magnetic field.
• This study explores the utility of fMRI phase data for brain function analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the application of resting-state fMRI phase data for brain functional analysis.
• To compare functional network connectivity derived from phase data with that from magnitude data.

Main Methods:

• fMRI phase data from 100 subjects were preprocessed using SPM.
• Group independent component analysis (ICA) was applied separately to magnitude and phase data.
• Spatial patterns and functional connectivity (FC) matrices of both data types were compared.

Main Results:

• Phase data exhibited positive/negative correlation-balanced functional connectivity, unlike the prevalence of positive correlations in magnitude data.
• Functional connectivity structures differed significantly between phase (pFC) and magnitude (mFC) data, particularly in cluster interactions.

Conclusions:

• fMRI phase data provides a unique perspective on brain functional connectivity.
• Utilizing phase fMRI can enhance the comprehensiveness of brain function analysis.