Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Awake Infants: Insights From More Than 750 Scanning Sessions

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in awake infants offers insights into early brain development and its relation to cognition and behavior.
• Significant methodological challenges have limited the widespread adoption of awake infant fMRI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze a large dataset of awake infant fMRI data from two institutions (Yale and MIT) to identify factors influencing data acquisition and quality.
• To provide recommendations for optimizing participant recruitment, experimental design, and data acquisition in future infant fMRI studies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 766 fMRI sessions from infants aged 1-36 months.
• Exploration of factors influencing data yield, including infant age, sex, experimental paradigm, and stimulus content.
• Comparison of data acquisition and preprocessing strategies between two research labs.

Main Results:

• Infant age significantly predicted scanner entry (younger infants more likely) and data quantity collected and retained.
• Female infants and movie-based experimental paradigms yielded more usable data.
• Socially relevant stimuli were more effective than abstract stimuli.
• While labs differed in initial recruitment and data collection, retained data quality was comparable.

Conclusions:

• Awake infant fMRI is a feasible technique for studying early brain development.
• Specific practices, such as using movie paradigms and social stimuli, can optimize data collection.
• Findings support the potential of awake infant fMRI for advancing our understanding of cognitive and behavioral development.