How to Interpret Resting-State fMRI: Ask your Participants

Year of Publication: 2021
Project: BOLD Connectivity Dynamics
FIM Authors:

• Javier Gonzalez-Castillo, Ph.D.
• Colin Hoy
• Peter Bandettini, Ph.D.

Authors:

• Javier Gonzalez-Castillo
• Julia Kam
• Colin Hoy
• Peter Bandettini

Abstract: Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) reveals brain dynamics in a task-unconstrained environment as subjects let their minds wander freely. Consequently, resting subjects navigate a rich space of cognitive and perceptual states (i.e., ongoing experience). How this ongoing experience shapes rsfMRI summary metrics (e.g., functional connectivity) is unknown, yet likely to contribute uniquely to within- and between-subject differences. Here we argue that understanding the role of ongoing experience in rsfMRI requires access to standardized, temporally resolved, scientifically validated first-person descriptions of those experiences. We suggest best practices for obtaining those descriptions via introspective methods appropriately adapted for use in fMRI research. We conclude with a set of guidelines for fusing these two data types to answer pressing questions about the etiology of rsfMRI.
Journal: Journal of Neuroscience
Volume: 41
URL: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/41/6/1130.abstract
DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1786-20.2020