Cited by 2,344Functional Brain Connectivity StudiesAdvanced MRI Techniques and ApplicationsAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

The influence of head motion on intrinsic functional connectivity MRI

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Van Dijk, Koene R.A., Sabuncu, Mert R., Buckner, Randy L.·2012·NeuroImage

Abstract

Functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) has been widely applied to explore group and individual differences. A confounding factor is head motion. Children move more than adults, older adults more than younger adults, and patients more than controls. Head motion varies considerably among individuals within the same population. Here we explored the influence of head motion on fcMRI estimates. Mean head displacement, maximum head displacement, the number of micro movements (>0.1 mm), and head rotation were estimated in 1000 healthy, young adult subjects each scanned for two resting-state runs on matched 3T scanners. The majority of fcMRI variation across subjects was not linked to head motion. However, head motion had significant, systematic effects on fcMRI network measures. Head motion was associated with decreased functional coupling in the default and frontoparietal control networks--two networks characterized by coupling among distributed regions of association cortex. Other network measures increased with motion including estimates of local functional coupling and coupling between left and right motor regions--a region pair sometimes used as a control in studies to establish specificity. Comparisons between groups of individuals with subtly different levels of head motion yielded difference maps that could be mistaken for neuronal effects in other contexts. These effects are important to consider when interpreting variation between groups and across individuals.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.044

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  • Head motion has become a substantial concern since 2012, when a trio of papers pointed to systematic motion-related artifacts in rs-fcMRI.

    “head motion has become a substantial concern since 2012 when a trio of papers pointed to systematic motion-related artifacts in rs-fcMRI (Power et al., 2012; Satterthwaite et al., 2012; Van Dijk et al., 2012).”
  • Some resting-state connectivity findings of age-related growth in long-range connections were artifacts of greater motion in younger participants and disappeared with proper motion correction.

    “researchers recently discovered that some functional connectivity analyses interpreted as demonstrating developmental increases in long-range connections during rest (i.e., independent from any task) were spurious effects of greater motion in younger participants [62,63], which were eliminated with appropriate controls for motion-induced artifacts.”
  • Resting-state functional connectivity data are sensitive to head motion.

    “Strict motion correction procedures were applied to resting state functional maps, due to the sensitivity of RSFC data to head motion (Power et al., 2012, Satterthwaite et al., 2012, Van Dijk et al., 2012).”
  • Head motion, even of submillimeter magnitude, is a nonphysiological source of spurious variance in resting-state fMRI data.

    “Head motion, even of submillimeter magnitude, has been identified as a nonphysiological source of spurious variance in resting-state fMRI data (Power et al. 2012; Van Dijk et al. 2012; Satterthwaite et al. 2013).”

    From Joint attention and brain functional connectivity in infants and toddlers (2017) · cites this paper as Van Dijk et al. 2012

  • The strength of long-range functional connectivity is underestimated in cases of increased head motion.

    “The strength of long-range functional connectivity is underestimated in cases of increased head motion (Van Dijk et al., 2012)”

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Authors
Van Dijk, K. R. A., Sabuncu, M. R., & Buckner, R. L.
Affiliations
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Buckner, Randy L.
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-01
Volume
59
Issue
1
Pages
431-438
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2132175842
Cited by
2,344
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 80 · 2024: 85 · 2023: 107 · 2022: 126 · 2021: 141 · 2020: 174 · 2019: 234 · 2018: 184 · 2017: 191 · 2016: 214 · 2015: 238 · 2014: 206 · 2013: 203 · 2012: 92
FWCI
82.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • NIA (AG021910, P41RR14074, K08MH067966)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • Simons Foundation
  • NIH (1KL2RR025757)
  • Harvard University
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
Keywords
head movement, functional connectivity, resting-state fMRI, default mode network, frontoparietal network, functional coupling, micromotion, head rotation, interindividual variability, confounding
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Head, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motion, Movement, Neural Pathways, Young Adult

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