Giang-Chau Ngo1,2, Chelsea N Wong2,3, Steve Guo1,2, Thomas Paine2,4, Arthur F Kramer2,5, Bradley P Sutton1,2. 1. Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. 2. Beckman Institute of Technology for Advanced Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. 3. Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. 4. Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. 5. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential for bias in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) aging studies resulting from age-related differences in magnetic field distributions that can impact echo time and functional contrast. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Magnetic field maps were taken on 31 younger adults (age: 22 ± 2.9 years) and 46 older adults (age: 66 ± 4.5 years) on a 3T scanner. Using the spatial gradients of the magnetic field map for each participant, an echo planar imaging (EPI) trajectory was simulated. The effective echo time, time at which the k-space trajectory is the closest to the center of k-space, was calculated. This was used to examine both within-subject and across-age-group differences in the effective echo time maps. The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) percent signal change resulting from those echo time shifts was also calculated to determine their impact on fMRI aging studies. RESULTS: For a single subject, the effective echo time varied as much as ±5 msec across the brain. An unpaired t-test between the effective echo time across age groups resulted in significant differences in several regions of the brain (P < 0.01). The difference in echo time was only ∼1 msec, however, which is not expected to have an important impact on BOLD fMRI percent signal change (<4%). CONCLUSION: Susceptibility-induced magnetic field gradients induce local echo-time shifts in gradient echo fMRI images, which can cause variable BOLD sensitivity across the brain. However, the age-related differences in BOLD signal are expected to be small for an fMRI study at 3T. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:207-214.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential for bias in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) aging studies resulting from age-related differences in magnetic field distributions that can impact echo time and functional contrast. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Magnetic field maps were taken on 31 younger adults (age: 22 ± 2.9 years) and 46 older adults (age: 66 ± 4.5 years) on a 3T scanner. Using the spatial gradients of the magnetic field map for each participant, an echo planar imaging (EPI) trajectory was simulated. The effective echo time, time at which the k-space trajectory is the closest to the center of k-space, was calculated. This was used to examine both within-subject and across-age-group differences in the effective echo time maps. The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) percent signal change resulting from those echo time shifts was also calculated to determine their impact on fMRI aging studies. RESULTS: For a single subject, the effective echo time varied as much as ±5 msec across the brain. An unpaired t-test between the effective echo time across age groups resulted in significant differences in several regions of the brain (P < 0.01). The difference in echo time was only ∼1 msec, however, which is not expected to have an important impact on BOLD fMRI percent signal change (<4%). CONCLUSION: Susceptibility-induced magnetic field gradients induce local echo-time shifts in gradient echo fMRI images, which can cause variable BOLD sensitivity across the brain. However, the age-related differences in BOLD signal are expected to be small for an fMRI study at 3T. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:207-214.
Authors: Stephen M Smith; Mark Jenkinson; Mark W Woolrich; Christian F Beckmann; Timothy E J Behrens; Heidi Johansen-Berg; Peter R Bannister; Marilena De Luca; Ivana Drobnjak; David E Flitney; Rami K Niazy; James Saunders; John Vickers; Yongyue Zhang; Nicola De Stefano; J Michael Brady; Paul M Matthews Journal: Neuroimage Date: 2004 Impact factor: 6.556
Authors: S Ogawa; D W Tank; R Menon; J M Ellermann; S G Kim; H Merkle; K Ugurbil Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 1992-07-01 Impact factor: 11.205