Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

fMRI experiments with awake non-human primates (NHP) have become more widespread in recent years. However, the standard fMRI analysis tools designed for human experiments are not well suited for analysis of NHP fMRI data collected at high fields. There are several reasons for this, including the trial-based nature of NHP experiments, with inter-trial periods being of no interest, and various artefacts that may result from field changes due to animal movement. We demonstrate an approach that allows us to address some of these issues. We have implemented a software toolbox, fMRI Sandbox (http://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/ stoewer), for semi-automated application of these processing steps that interfaces with SPM software. Here, we demonstrate that our methodology provides significant improvements for the analysis of awake monkey fMRI data acquired at high-field. The method may also be useful for clinical applications with subjects that are unwilling or unable to remain motionless for the whole duration of a functional scan.