Neurobiological basis of head motion in brain imaging

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1317424111
• Publication Date: 2014-04-08T04:10:32Z
• Authors: Ling-Li Zeng; Danhong Wang; Michael D. Fox; Mert Sabuncu; Dewen Hu; Manling Ge; Randy L. Buckner; Hesheng Liu
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; 150; 610; Brain; Neuroimaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Motion; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Humans; Female; Nerve Net; Head

Significance This study expands our understanding of head motion in brain imaging. Complementing the common knowledge that motion artifacts can distort brain connectivity measures by causing artifacts, this study identifies a neurobiological trait that is linked to differences in motion. This correlate of head motion consists of reduced distant functional connectivity primarily in the default network areas in individuals with high head motion. Importantly, this correlate is stable within individuals across time. These findings may revise the interpretations of imaging findings in many neurodevelopmental, aging, and neuropsychiatric studies. In addition, differentiating the true disease effects from the correlates of motion tendency as reported here is critical for using connectivity markers in the clinical arena because correlates of motion may reduce specificity of biomarkers.