Multi-echo acquisition and thermal denoising advances precision functional imaging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Precision Functional Mapping (PFM) offers insights into adult brain organization.
• Understanding developmental changes in brain functional organization is crucial for lifelong health.
• Acquiring high-quality precision fMRI data in developing populations presents unique challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate methods for improving precision fMRI data acquisition and analysis in developmental populations.
• To evaluate the efficacy of multi-echo (ME) data acquisition and Noise Reduction with Distribution Corrected (NORDIC) denoising.
• To assess the impact of these methods on temporal signal to noise ratio (tSNR) and functional connectivity reliability.

Main Methods:

• Applied ME data acquisition and NORDIC denoising to precision fMRI data from adults, children, and newborn infants.
• Assessed improvements in tSNR and split-half reliability of functional connectivity matrices.
• Analyzed T2* relaxation times to understand echo weighting optimization for ME data.

Main Results:

• Both ME acquisitions and NORDIC increased tSNR and functional connectivity reliability in adults.
• NORDIC denoising benefits were replicated in pediatric and infant samples.
• ME acquisitions revealed developmental differences in T2* relaxation times, impacting optimal echo weighting for infants.

Conclusions:

• Methodological advances enhance Precision Functional Mapping in adults and developmental populations.
• ME acquisitions show potential for optimizing developmental fMRI, particularly in infants, but require further investigation.
• Further improvements are needed for infant-specific fMRI acquisition and analysis.