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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
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Published on: July 30, 2009
How much is "enough"? Considerations for functional connectivity reliability in pediatric naturalistic fMRI
Shefali Rai1,2,3,4, Kate J Godfrey1,2,3,4, Kirk Graff1,2,3,4
1Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Insights
Pediatric functional connectivity (FC) requires longer scan times for reliable fMRI measurements compared to adults. Children need nearly double the data duration to achieve comparable FC reliability, impacting developmental neuroimaging study design.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Brain Connectivity
Background:
- Reliable functional connectivity (FC) is crucial for neuroimaging research.
- Pediatric functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) presents challenges like head motion and short scan durations.
- FC reliability in pediatric passive viewing fMRI is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare FC reliability between children and adults using precision fMRI data.
- To investigate the impact of scan length on FC reliability in pediatric populations.
- To explore differences in FC reliability across various passive viewing conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized precision fMRI data from 25 pre-adolescent children and 25 adults.
- Collected over 2.8 hours of data per participant across 4 sessions.
- Analyzed FC test-retest reliability as a function of scan length and head motion.
Main Results:
- Children required significantly longer scan times (24.6 min) than adults (14.4 min) for comparable FC reliability.
- Head motion partially explained reliability differences, which were spatially non-uniform.
- Higher-motion children showed poor-to-fair reliability even with extended scan times; engagement trade-offs were observed.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric neuroimaging requires longer fMRI scan durations for robust FC measurements.
- Scan length and head motion are critical factors influencing pediatric FC reliability.
- Findings inform optimal study design for developmental neuroimaging, especially for high-motion cohorts.
Abstract:
Reliable functional connectivity (FC) measurements are important for robust neuroimaging findings, yet pediatric functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) faces unique challenges due to head motion and bias toward shorter scans. Passive viewing conditions during fMRI offer advantages for scanning pediatric populations, but FC reliability under these conditions remains underexplored. Here, we used precision fMRI data collected across three passive viewing conditions to directly compare FC reliability profiles between 25 pre-adolescent children and 25 adults, with each participant providing over 2.8 hours of data over 4 sessions. We found that FC test-retest correlations increased asymptotically with scan length, with children requiring nearly twice the post-censored scan time (24.6 minutes) compared with adults (14.4 minutes) to achieve comparable reliability, and that this effect was only partly attributable to head motion. Reliability differences between lower-motion adults and higher-motion children were spatially non-uniform and largest in ventral anterior temporal and frontal regions. While averaging features within functional networks improved intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) reliability, values for higher-motion children remained in the poor-to-fair ICC range even with 24 minutes of data. Of note, we observed substantial increases in edge-wise ICC between 24 and 54 minutes of data. Viewing conditions with greater engagement reduced head motion in children but had lower FC reliability than less engaging "low-demand" videos, suggesting complex state- or condition-related trade-offs. These findings have important implications for developmental neuroimaging study design, particularly for higher motion pediatric populations.
