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between function and structure in the resting-‐state brain: an fMRI and VBM study
N. Vigneau-‐Roy1, M. Descoteaux2, K. Whittingstall1
1
Dept. of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada,
2
Dept. of Computer Science, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
Introduction
Resting-‐state
fMRI
reflects
activity
in
the
brain
that
is
not
related
to
an
external
stimulus.
Although
the
intensity
of
this
activity
is
often
found
to
be
strongest
in
the
cuneus
and
precuneus
[1],
the
fMRI
signal
strength
in
these
areas
varies
considerably
across
individuals.
One
hypothesis
is
that
this
is
due
to
variability
in
subject
train
of
thought
or
consciousness
level
[8].
Alternatively,
variations
in
the
brains
anatomical
structure
may
also
explain
this
result.
We
therefore
investigated
the
relationship
between
grey-‐matter
density
and
fMRI
signal
amplitude
both
across
brain
regions
and
subjects.
Methods
We
used
two
publically-‐available
data
sets
[2].
The
description
of
the
acquisition
can
be
found
on
[2].
We
first
used
FSL
[3][4]
and
AFNI
[5][6]
to
compute
the
fractional
Amplitude
of
Low-‐
Frequency
Fluctuation
(fALFF)
signal
between
0.01
and
0.1
Hz
in
22
subjects
(Dataset
#1)
and
converted
them
to
z-‐scores.
We
then
used
Voxel-‐Based
Morphometry
(VBM)
to
compute
gray-‐
matter
probability
(SPM8-‐VBM8
[7])
in
each
subject
of
the
two
data
sets.
fALFF
and
VBM
datasets
were
registered
to
MNI
space.
The
VBM
results
were
divided
into
10
equally-‐spaced
bins
(10%-‐100%)
from
which
we
extracted
the
mean
fALFF.
We
computed
the
average
best-‐fit
curve
between
grey-‐matter
density
and
fALFF
across
subjects,
and
used
it
to
predict
the
fALFF
from
the
second
dataset
using
only
the
VBM
results.
The
predicted
and
measured
of
the
second
dataset
were
then
compared.
Result
We
first
found
a
negative
polynomial
relation
between
the
quantification
of
grey
matter
and
the
amplitude
of
the
fALFF
signal
across
the
brain.
We
were
able
to
modelized
the
data
with
a
4th
degree
polynomial
equation.
Then,
we
found
that
the
relation
was
strong
enough
to
obtain
an
accurate
prediction
with
less
than
10%
error
for
every
bin
of
grey
matter
probability
on
a
second
dataset
(Dataset
#2).
Conclusion
These
preliminary
results
show
a
strong
relation
between
structure
and
function
in
the
brain.
This
suggests
that
variations
in
fMRI
resting-‐state
activity
are
not
solely
driven
by
the
subjects
state
(e.g.
level
of
vigilance),
but
also
by
inherent
differences
in
the
brains
structural
architecture.
However,
we
also
observed
inter-‐regional
differences,
i.e.
brain
regions
with
high
grey
matter
density
that
were
not
highly
activated
during
resting-‐state
scans.
We
are
currently
investigating
other
methods
for
more
accurately
establishing
the
link
between
the
two
components.
A
regional
analysis
could
help
us
to
be
more
accurate
and
efficient
in
our
attempt
to
predict
the
fALFF
signal
in
resting-‐state
fMRI
from
a
prior
VBM
analysis.
References
[1]
X.-‐N.
Zuo
et
al.,
‘The
oscillating
brain:
Complex
and
reliable’,
NeuroImage,
vol.
49,
no.
2,
pp.
1432-‐1445,
2010.
[2]
http://www.nitrc.org/frs/?group_id=296
[3]
M.W.
Woolrich
et
al.,
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analysis
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in
FSL’,
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45:S173-‐
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2009.
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S.M.
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[5]
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W.
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