Quantifying brain development in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study: The magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy protocol.
Dean DC., Tisdall MD., Wisnowski JL., Feczko E., Gagoski B., Alexander AL., Edden RAE., Gao W., Hendrickson TJ., Howell BR., Huang H., Humphreys KL., Riggins T., Sylvester CM., Weldon KB., Yacoub E., Ahtam B., Beck N., Banerjee S., Boroday S., Caprihan A., Caron B., Carpenter S., Chang Y., Chung AW., Cieslak M., Clarke WT., Dale A., Das S., Davies-Jenkins CW., Dufford AJ., Evans AC., Fesselier L., Ganji SK., Gilbert G., Graham AM., Gudmundson AT., Macgregor-Hannah M., Harms MP., Hilbert T., Hui SCN., Irfanoglu MO., Kecskemeti S., Kober T., Kuperman JM., Lamichhane B., Landman BA., Lecour-Bourcher X., Lee EG., Li X., MacIntyre L., Madjar C., Manhard MK., Mayer AR., Mehta K., Moore LA., Murali-Manohar S., Navarro C., Nebel MB., Newman SD., Newton AT., Noeske R., Norton ES., Oeltzschner G., Ongaro-Carcy R., Ou X., Ouyang M., Parrish TB., Pekar JJ., Pengo T., Pierpaoli C., Poldrack RA., Rajagopalan V., Rettmann DW., Rioux P., Rosenberg JT., Salo T., Satterthwaite TD., Scott LS., Shin E., Simegn G., Simmons WK., Song Y., Tikalsky BJ., Tkach J., van Zijl PCM., Vannest J., Versluis M., Zhao Y., Zöllner HJ., Fair DA., Smyser CD., Elison JT., HBCD MRI Working Group None.
The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. The acquisition of multimodal magnetic resonance-based brain development data is central to the study's core protocol. However, application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) methods in this population is complicated by technical challenges and difficulties of imaging in early life. Overcoming these challenges requires an innovative and harmonized approach, combining age-appropriate acquisition protocols together with specialized pediatric neuroimaging strategies. The HBCD MRI Working Group aimed to establish a core acquisition protocol for all 27 HBCD Study recruitment sites to measure brain structure, function, microstructure, and metabolites. Acquisition parameters of individual modalities have been matched across MRI scanner platforms for harmonized acquisitions and state-of-the-art technologies are employed to enable faster and motion-robust imaging. Here, we provide an overview of the HBCD MRI protocol, including decisions of individual modalities and preliminary data. The result will be an unparalleled resource for examining early neurodevelopment which enables the larger scientific community to assess normative trajectories from birth through childhood and to examine the genetic, biological, and environmental factors that help shape the developing brain.