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Hippocampal subfield volumetry from structural isotropic 1 mm3 MRI scans : A note of caution

Wisse, Laura E.M. LU orcid ; Chételat, Gaël ; Daugherty, Ana M. ; de Flores, Robin ; la Joie, Renaud ; Mueller, Susanne G. ; Stark, Craig E.L. ; Wang, Lei ; Yushkevich, Paul A. and Berron, David LU , et al. (2021) In Human Brain Mapping 42(2). p.539-550
Abstract

Spurred by availability of automatic segmentation software, in vivo MRI investigations of human hippocampal subfield volumes have proliferated in the recent years. However, a majority of these studies apply automatic segmentation to MRI scans with approximately 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 resolution, a resolution at which the internal structure of the hippocampus can rarely be visualized. Many of these studies have reported contradictory and often neurobiologically surprising results pertaining to the involvement of hippocampal subfields in normal brain function, aging, and disease. In this commentary, we first outline our concerns regarding the utility and validity of subfield segmentation on 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 MRI for volumetric... (More)

Spurred by availability of automatic segmentation software, in vivo MRI investigations of human hippocampal subfield volumes have proliferated in the recent years. However, a majority of these studies apply automatic segmentation to MRI scans with approximately 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 resolution, a resolution at which the internal structure of the hippocampus can rarely be visualized. Many of these studies have reported contradictory and often neurobiologically surprising results pertaining to the involvement of hippocampal subfields in normal brain function, aging, and disease. In this commentary, we first outline our concerns regarding the utility and validity of subfield segmentation on 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 MRI for volumetric studies, regardless of how images are segmented (i.e., manually or automatically). This image resolution is generally insufficient for visualizing the internal structure of the hippocampus, particularly the stratum radiatum lacunosum moleculare, which is crucial for valid and reliable subfield segmentation. Second, we discuss the fact that automatic methods that are employed most frequently to obtain hippocampal subfield volumes from 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 MRI have not been validated against manual segmentation on such images. For these reasons, we caution against using volumetric measurements of hippocampal subfields obtained from 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 images.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
1 mm, FreeSurfer, hippocampal subfields, MRI, volumetry
in
Human Brain Mapping
volume
42
issue
2
pages
539 - 550
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85092638250
  • pmid:33058385
ISSN
1065-9471
DOI
10.1002/hbm.25234
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5af12f0c-3e5c-471a-a099-2a25a573d80f
date added to LUP
2020-11-12 09:54:09
date last changed
2024-06-27 01:15:01
@article{5af12f0c-3e5c-471a-a099-2a25a573d80f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Spurred by availability of automatic segmentation software, in vivo MRI investigations of human hippocampal subfield volumes have proliferated in the recent years. However, a majority of these studies apply automatic segmentation to MRI scans with approximately 1 × 1 × 1 mm<sup>3</sup> resolution, a resolution at which the internal structure of the hippocampus can rarely be visualized. Many of these studies have reported contradictory and often neurobiologically surprising results pertaining to the involvement of hippocampal subfields in normal brain function, aging, and disease. In this commentary, we first outline our concerns regarding the utility and validity of subfield segmentation on 1 × 1 × 1 mm<sup>3</sup> MRI for volumetric studies, regardless of how images are segmented (i.e., manually or automatically). This image resolution is generally insufficient for visualizing the internal structure of the hippocampus, particularly the stratum radiatum lacunosum moleculare, which is crucial for valid and reliable subfield segmentation. Second, we discuss the fact that automatic methods that are employed most frequently to obtain hippocampal subfield volumes from 1 × 1 × 1 mm<sup>3</sup> MRI have not been validated against manual segmentation on such images. For these reasons, we caution against using volumetric measurements of hippocampal subfields obtained from 1 × 1 × 1 mm<sup>3</sup> images.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wisse, Laura E.M. and Chételat, Gaël and Daugherty, Ana M. and de Flores, Robin and la Joie, Renaud and Mueller, Susanne G. and Stark, Craig E.L. and Wang, Lei and Yushkevich, Paul A. and Berron, David and Raz, Naftali and Bakker, Arnold and Olsen, Rosanna K. and Carr, Valerie A.}},
  issn         = {{1065-9471}},
  keywords     = {{1 mm; FreeSurfer; hippocampal subfields; MRI; volumetry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{539--550}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Human Brain Mapping}},
  title        = {{Hippocampal subfield volumetry from structural isotropic 1 mm<sup>3</sup> MRI scans : A note of caution}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25234}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/hbm.25234}},
  volume       = {{42}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}