BrainEffeX: A Web App for Exploring fMRI Effect Sizes

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Data Science

Background:

• Effect size estimation is vital for fMRI power analyses and experimental design.
• fMRI data complexity and analysis techniques present unique challenges for accurate effect size estimation.
• Existing tools may not adequately address the specific needs of fMRI effect size exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce an interactive web application, BrainEffeX, for exploring functional MRI (fMRI) effect maps.
• To provide precise voxel-wise and multivariate effect size estimates for common fMRI study designs.
• To create a collaborative, growing resource for the fMRI research community.

Main Methods:

• Utilized large-scale fMRI datasets (n > 500) for robust effect size calculations.
• Calculated effect sizes for typical fMRI designs: brain-behavior correlation, task vs. rest contrasts, and functional connectivity analyses.
• Developed an interactive web application (neuroprismlab.shinyapps.io/BrainEffeX) for visualizing and exploring these effect maps.

Main Results:

• Generated precise voxel-wise and multivariate effect size estimates from large fMRI datasets.
• Demonstrated the application's utility across diverse fMRI analysis types, including activation and connectivity maps.
• Established a foundational resource for understanding effect sizes in standard fMRI research paradigms.

Conclusions:

• BrainEffeX offers a valuable tool for researchers to explore fMRI effect sizes and inform experimental design.
• The application facilitates a deeper understanding of effect magnitudes in typical fMRI studies.
• Encourages community contributions of large datasets to expand the resource's scope and accuracy.