Stories
» Go to news mainReliability of multimodal MRI brain measures in youth at risk for mental illness
Dr. Matthias Schmidt and Dr. Chris Bowen
Abstract
Introduction: A new generation of large-scale studies is using neuroimaging to investigate adolescent brain development across health and disease. However, imaging artifacts such as head motion remain a challenge and may be exacerbated in pediatric clinical samples. In this study, we assessed the scan-rescan reliability of multimodal MRI in a sample of youth enriched for risk of mental illness.
Methods: We obtained repeated MRI scans, an average of 2.7 ± 1.4 weeks apart, from 50 youth (mean age 14.7 years, SD = 4.4). Half of the sample (52%) had a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder; 22% had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We quantified reliability with the test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
Results: Gray matter measurements were highly reliable with mean ICCs as follows: cortical volume (ICC = 0.90), cortical surface area (ICC = 0.89), cortical thickness (ICC = 0.82), and local gyrification index (ICC = 0.85). White matter volume reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.98). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) components were also highly reliable. Fractional anisotropy was most consistently measured (ICC = 0.88), followed by radial diffusivity (ICC = 0.84), mean diffusivity (ICC = 0.81), and axial diffusivity (ICC = 0.78). We also observed regional variability in reconstruction, with some brain structures less reliably reconstructed than others.
Conclusions: Overall, we showed that developmental MRI measures are highly reliable, even in youth at risk for mental illness and those already affected by anxiety and neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet, caution is warranted if patterns of results cluster within regions of lower reliability.
Keywords: MRI; developmental; diffusion tensor imaging; intraclass correlation coefficient; local gyrification index; reliability; reproducibility; youth.
Recent News
- QEII welcomes the first GE StarGuide SPECT‑CT scanner in Canada.
- The first 68Ga‑PSMA PET scans in Atlantic Canada mark a new era in prostate cancer assessment
- Dr. David Volders awarded the Dr. Charles Lo Prize in Radiology Research
- Radiology Research Day 2024
- Program Administrator Award of Excellence
- Clinical practice guideline for management of osteoporosis and fracture prevention in Canada: 2023 update
- Dr. Siân Iles interviewed on CBC's Information Morning
- Dr. Steven Beyea and Dr. Adela Cora featured in the latest Beyond Research podcast from ResearchNS
Comments
comments powered by Disqus