Practical challenges of continuous real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback with multiband accelerated echo-planar imaging and short repetition times

Malika P Renz; Francesca Zidda; Jamila Andoh; Marcel Prager; Markus Sack; Robert Becker; Matthias Ruf; Mike M Schmitgen; Robert C Wolf; Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg; Heike Tost

doi:10.1002/hbm.26154

Practical challenges of continuous real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback with multiband accelerated echo-planar imaging and short repetition times

Hum Brain Mapp. 2023 Feb 15;44(3):1278-1282. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26154. Epub 2022 Nov 18.

Authors

Malika P Renz¹, Francesca Zidda¹, Jamila Andoh¹, Marcel Prager², Markus Sack^{3

4}, Robert Becker^{3

4}, Matthias Ruf^{3

4}, Mike M Schmitgen⁵, Robert C Wolf⁵, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg¹, Heike Tost¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
² Department of Neuroradiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Department of Neuroimaging, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
⁴ Center for Innovative Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Research, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
⁵ Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.

Abstract

Continuous real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback is gaining increasing scientific attention in clinical neuroscience and may benefit from the short repetition times of modern multiband echoplanar imaging sequences. However, minimizing feedback delay can result in technical challenges. Here, we report a technical problem we experienced during continuous fMRI neurofeedback with multiband echoplanar imaging and short repetition times. We identify the possible origins of this problem, describe our current interim solution and provide openly available workflows and code to other researchers in case they wish to use a similar approach.

Keywords: fMRI neurofeedback; image recostruction; imaging; multiband echo-planar; repetition time; self-regulation training.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain Mapping / methods
Echo-Planar Imaging* / methods
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Neurofeedback* / methods