Modeling motor task activation from resting-state fMRI using machine learning in individual subjects

• Published in: Brain imaging and behavior Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 122 - 132
• Main Authors: Niu, Chen, Cohen, Alexander D., Wen, Xin, Chen, Ziyi, Lin, Pan, Liu, Xin, Menze, Bjoern H., Wiestler, Benedikt, Wang, Yang, Zhang, Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain; Brain Mapping; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Hand; Humans; Independent component analysis; Learning algorithms; Machine Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Model matching; Neuropsychology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Original Research; Psychiatry; Rest; Sensorimotor system; Functional MRI; Resting state; General linear model; Motor function; Machine learning; Independent component analysis
• DOI: 10.1007/s11682-019-00239-9
• ISSN: 1931-7557; 1931-7565

Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) has provided important insights into brain physiology. It has become an increasingly popular method for presurgical mapping, as an alternative to task-based functional MRI wherein the subject performs a task while being scanned. However, there is no commonly acknowledged gold standard approach for detecting eloquent brain areas using rs-fMRI data in clinical settings. In this study, a general linear model-based machine learning (GLM-ML) approach was tested to predict individual motor task activation based on rs-fMRI data. Its accuracy was then compared to a conventional independent component analysis (ICA) approach. 47 healthy subjects were scanned using resting state, active and passive motor task fMRI experiments using a clinically applicable low-resolution fMRI protocol. The model was trained to associate rs-fMRI network maps with that of hand movement task fMRI, then used to predict task activation maps for unseen subjects solely based on their rs-fMRI data. Our results showed that the GLM-ML approach can accurately predict individual differences in task activation using rs-fMRI data and outperform conventional ICA to detect task activation in the primary sensorimotor region. Furthermore, the predicted activation maps using the GLM -ML model matched well with the activation of passive hand movement fMRI on an individual basis. These results suggest that GLM-ML approach can robustly predict individual differences of task activation based on conventional low-resolution rs-fMRI data and has important implications for future clinical applications.