Improved correspondence of fMRI visual field localizer data after cortex-based macroanatomical alignment

  • Studying the visual system with fMRI often requires using localizer paradigms to define regions of interest (ROIs). However, the considerable interindividual variability of the cerebral cortex represents a crucial confound for group-level analyses. Cortex-based alignment (CBA) techniques reliably reduce interindividual macroanatomical variability. Yet, their utility has not been assessed for visual field localizer paradigms, which map specific parts of the visual field within retinotopically organized visual areas. We evaluated CBA for an attention-enhanced visual field localizer, mapping homologous parts of each visual quadrant in 50 participants. We compared CBA with volume-based alignment and a surface-based analysis, which did not include macroanatomical alignment. CBA led to the strongest increase in the probability of activation overlap (up to 86%). At the group level, CBA led to the most consistent increase in ROI size while preserving vertical ROI symmetry. Overall, our results indicate that in addition to the increased signal-to-noise ratio of a surface-based analysis, macroanatomical alignment considerably improves statistical power. These findings confirm and extend the utility of CBA for the study of the visual system in the context of group analyses. CBA should be particularly relevant when studying neuropsychiatric disorders with abnormally increased interindividual macroanatomical variability.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Mishal QubadORCiDGND, Catherine Barnes-ScheuflerORCiDGND, Michael SchaumORCiDGND, Eva RasporORCiD, Lara RöslerORCiDGND, Benjamin PetersORCiDGND, Carmen SchiweckORCiD, Rainer GoebelORCiDGND, Andreas ReifORCiDGND, Robert Arthur BittnerORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-795461
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17909-2
ISSN:2045-2322
Parent Title (English):Scientific Reports
Publisher:Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature
Place of publication:[London]
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2022/08/22
Date of first Publication:2022/08/22
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2024/04/05
Volume:12
Issue:Article number: 14310
Article Number:14310
Page Number:21
Institutes:Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International