ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2023
The confound of hemodynamic response function variability in human resting-state functional MRI studies.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- The research progress on effective connectivity in adolescent depression based on resting-state fMRI.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Neptune: a toolbox for spinal cord functional MRI data processing and quality assurance.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- COMPLEX-VALUED PHASE SYNCHRONY REVEALS DIRECTIONAL COUPLING IN FMRI AND TRACKS MEDICATION EFFECTS.ArXiv · 2025Article
- Revealing excitation-inhibition imbalance in Alzheimer's disease using multiscale neural model inversion of resting-state functional MRI.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Connectome-based predictive modeling of grip strength: a marker of physical frailty.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Cerebrovascular reactivity increases across development in multiple networks as revealed by a breath-holding task: A longitudinal fMRI study.Human brain mapping · 2024Article
- Ophthalmic artery reversal predicts contralateral body weakness symptoms better than carotid Doppler velocity-preliminary results.Annals of translational medicine · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an indirect measure of neural activity with the hemodynamic response function (HRF) coupling it with unmeasured neural activity. The HRF, modulated by several non-neural factors, is variable across brain regions, individuals and populations. Yet, a majority of human resting-state fMRI connectivity studies continue to assume a non-variable HRF. In this article, with supportive prior evidence, we argue that HRF variability cannot be ignored as it substantially confounds within-subject connectivity estimates and between-subjects connectivity group differences. We also discuss its clinical relevance with connectivity impairments confounded by HRF aberrations in several disorders. We present limited data on HRF differences between women and men, which resulted in a 15.4% median error in functional connectivity estimates in a group-level comparison. We also discuss the implications of HRF variability for fMRI studies in the spinal cord. There is a need for more dialogue within the community on the HRF confound, and we hope that our article is a catalyst in the process.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.