Functional MRI (fMRI) researchers wishing to understand human brain processes increasingly estimate relations among regions of interest (ROIs) across time. Together, these estimates create a """"""""connectivity map"""""""" of how brain processing occurs. One ubiquitous issue for most connectivity mapping methods is that they require homogeneity across individuals for reliable and valid results to be obtained. Researchers currently have no choice but to rely on homogeneity assumptions despite consistent evidence suggesting that brain processes vary substantially across human samples within control and clinical populations. Thus to examine differences between subgroups created according to demographic, behavioral or diagnostic indices, researchers must assume that all individuals within these subgroups are the same. There is a need in the field of neuroimaging for data-driven methods for identifying subgroups of individuals from their connectivity maps to accommodate within-subgroup heterogeneity. Data-driven subgroup classification could identify brain processes which relate to suboptimal task performance or specific diagnoses by subgrouping the entire sample in addition to helping researchers understand heterogeneity within subgroups. The present project aims to fill this demand by developing a novel approach for analyzing fMRI data which: 1) arrives at valid sample-level inferences that may be generalized to the population;2) identifies subgroup classification for individuals;and 3) provides reliable parameter estimates at the individual level. After developing, validating, and implementing the new procedure, a program which builds from a successful novel algorithm developed by the present authors will be made freely available to the public.

Public Health Relevance

The project, Data-driven approach for identifying subgroups using fMRI connectivity maps, aims to develop new ways of understanding how brain processes differ across people. We will produce free statistical software that will help researchers better identify subgroups to better understand heterogeneity which exists within diagnostic and control categories.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21EB015573-02
Application #
8688047
Study Section
(NOIT)
Program Officer
Pai, Vinay Manjunath
Project Start
2013-07-01
Project End
2015-06-30
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
Lane, Stephanie T; Gates, Kathleen M; Pike, Hallie K et al. (2018) Uncovering general, shared, and unique temporal patterns in ambulatory assessment data. Psychol Methods :
Price, Rebecca B; Lane, Stephanie; Gates, Kathleen et al. (2017) Parsing Heterogeneity in the Brain Connectivity of Depressed and Healthy Adults During Positive Mood. Biol Psychiatry 81:347-357
Zelle, Shannon L; Gates, Kathleen M; Fiez, Julie A et al. (2017) The first day is always the hardest: Functional connectivity during cue exposure and the ability to resist smoking in the initial hours of a quit attempt. Neuroimage 151:24-32
Lane, Stephanie T; Gates, Kathleen M (2017) Evaluating the use of the automated unified structural equation model for daily diary data. Multivariate Behav Res 52:126-127
Wright, Aidan G C; Beltz, Adriene M; Gates, Kathleen M et al. (2015) Examining the Dynamic Structure of Daily Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior at Multiple Levels of Analysis. Front Psychol 6:1914
Gates, Kathleen M; Molenaar, Peter C M; Iyer, Swathi P et al. (2014) Organizing heterogeneous samples using community detection of GIMME-derived resting state functional networks. PLoS One 9:e91322