Head movement can affect imaging of even gross structure of the brain

December 22, 2014

 

Neuroskeptic, a neuroscientist who blogs for Discover magazine's website, is troubled by the various ways in which head movement can bias MR imaging of the brain. He writes often about its potential impact on measures of functional and structural connectivity.

Now he has highlighted a study by the Martinos Center's Martin Reuter and colleagues showing the effect of head movement even on measures of the morphometry of the brain—that is, on its gross structure. In a Dec. 19 post, he details the findings of the study, Head motion during MRI acquisition reduces gray matter volume and thickness estimates, and explores their implications. You can read the post here.

This isn't the first time Neuroskeptic has written about Martinos Center-based investigations of head movement during brain scans. Just over a year ago, he described a Neuroimage study by Anastasia Yendiki and colleagues, which suggests that head movement could account for abnormal brain white matter connections observed in children with autism.