Helmholtz Gemeinschaft

Search
Browse
Statistics
Feeds

Activation mapping in multi-center retrospective rat sensory-evoked functional MRI datasets using a unified pipeline

[thumbnail of Original Article]
Preview
PDF (Original Article) - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
5MB

Item Type:Article
Title:Activation mapping in multi-center retrospective rat sensory-evoked functional MRI datasets using a unified pipeline
Creators Name:Galteau, Marie E., Broadwater, Margaret, Chen, Yi, Desrosiers-Gregoire, Gabriel, Gil, Rita, Kaesser, Johannes, Kim, Eugene, Kıryağdı, Pervin, Lambers, Henriette, Liu, Yanyan Y., López-Gil, Xavier, MacNicol, Eilidh, Mohebkhodaei, Parastoo, De Oliveira, Ricardo X.N., Pereira, Carolina A., Reimann, Henning M., Rivera-Olvera, Alejandro, Selingue, Erwan, Sirmpilatze, Nikoloz, Strobelt, Sandra, Sumiyoshi, Akira, Tham, Channelle, Tudela, Raul, Vrooman, Roël M., Wank, Isabel, Zhang, Yongzhi, van Engelenburg, Wessel A., Baudewig, Jürgen, Boretius, Susann, Cash, Diana, Chakravarty, M. Mallar, Chuang, Kai-Hsiang, Ciobanu, Luisa, Devenyi, Gabriel A., Faber, Cornelius, Hess, Andreas, Homberg, Judith R., Jelescu, Ileana O., Justicia, Carles, Kawashima, Ryuta, Niendorf, Thoralf, Scheenen, Tom W.J., Shemesh, Noam, Soria, Guadalupe, Todd, Nick, Wachsmuth, Lydia, Yu, Xin, Zhang, Baogui B., Shih, Yen-Yu Ian, Lee, Sung-Ho and Grandjean, Joanes
Abstract:Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in rodents is pivotal for understanding the mechanisms underlying Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent (BOLD) signals and phenotyping animal models of disorders, among other applications. Despite its growing use, comparing rodent fMRI results across different research sites remains challenging due to variations in experimental protocols. Here, we aggregated and analyzed 22 sensory-evoked rat fMRI datasets from 12 imaging centers, totaling scans from 220 rats, to get a snapshot of the current acquisitions in the field. This retrospective analysis highlights common practices and parameters to inform future cross-laboratory standardization efforts. We applied a standardized preprocessing pipeline and evaluated the impact of different hemodynamic response function models on group- and individual-level activity patterns. Our analysis revealed inter-dataset variability attributed to differences in experimental design, anesthesia protocols, and imaging parameters. We identified robust activation clusters in all (22/22) datasets. The comparison between stock human models implemented in software and rat-specific models showed significant variations in the resulting statistical maps. Our findings emphasize the necessity for standardized protocols and collaborative efforts to improve the reproducibility and reliability of rodent fMRI studies. We provide open access to all datasets and analysis code to foster transparency and further research in the field.
Keywords:Sensory-Evoked, FMRI, Multicenter Study, BOLD, Hemodynamic Response Function
Source:Imaging Neuroscience
ISSN:2837-6056
Publisher:MIT Press
Volume:3
Page Range:IMAG.a.157
Date:22 September 2025
Official Publication:https://doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.157
PubMed:View item in PubMed
Related to:

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Open Access
MDC Library