Size matters when it comes to neuroimaging studies

Although research that utilizes MRI has uncovered many structural and functional correlations between our brains and various diseases and illnesses, new research suggests that many neuroimaging studies are ineffective due to their sample sizes. 

In recent years, the study of mental illnesses and other neurological conditions has benefited greatly from the use of MRI brain scans. Functional MRI (fMRI), for example, has allowed scientists to map specific structures and functions of the brain in real time, revealing clues about how patients’ conditions and behaviors could be associated with neurological changes observed on imaging. 

While these scans have offered a plethora of insight into the inner workings of the brain, the information obtained from neuroimaging research has yet to translate widely into realistic advances of treatment options, especially in the realm of mental health. A study published recently in Nature explains why. 

“A primary challenge has been replicating associations between inter-individual differences in brain structure or function and complex cognitive or mental health phenotypes (brain-wide association studies (BWAS)),” first author Scott Marek, PhD, with the department of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, and co-authors disclosed. “Such BWAS have typically relied on sample sizes appropriate for classical brain mapping, but potentially too small for capturing reproducible brain-behavioral phenotype associations.”