How to Interpret Resting-State fMRI: Ask Your Participants

• Published in: The Journal of neuroscience Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 1130 - 1141
• Main Authors: Gonzalez-Castillo, Javier, Kam, Julia W.Y., Hoy, Colin W., Bandettini, Peter A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Society for Neuroscience 10.02.2021
• Subjects: Best practice; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Brain mapping; Cognitive ability; Descriptions; Etiology; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - psychology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - standards; Neural networks; Practice Guidelines as Topic - standards; Rest - physiology; Rest - psychology; Thinking - physiology; Viewpoints; fMRI; coactivation patterns; introspection; ongoing experience; consciousness; resting-state
• ISSN: 0270-6474; 1529-2401; 1529-2401
• DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1786-20.2020

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.