Kerstin Pannek1,2, Jane Mathias3,
James Taylor4, Parnesh Raniga5, Olivier Salvado5,
Stephen Rose1,2
1Centre for Magnetic Resonance,
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; 2UQ
Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia; 3School of Psychology, University of Adelaide,
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 4Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 5The
Australian E-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Structural
connectivity of the brain using MR diffusion tractography has gained
significant interest. A connectivity matrix of cortical connectivity may
provide unique insight into brain organisation. We aimed to develop a method
to determine the number of seeds required to obtain stable and reproducible
connectivity, and to assess reproducibility over time. We employ a bootstrap
approach for estimation of these parameters. While connectivity measures of
some regions are highly reproducible over time, other connections show poor
reproducibility. This study highlights the relationship between seed number
and reproducibility of connectivity.