Abstract #2097

A Method to Determine the Necessity for Global Signal Regression in Resting-State FMRI Studies

Gang Chen¹, Guangyu Chen², Chunming Xie², B. Douglas Ward², Wenjun Li², Piero Antuono³, Shi-Jiang Li²

¹Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI , United States; ²Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; ³Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

In resting-state functional MRI studies, the efficacy of the global signal regression method remains questionable. We demonstrate that the accuracy of the estimated global signal is determined by the level of global noise. A method to quantify global noise levels was then introduced. We show that a criteria to determine the necessity for global signal regression can be found based on the method.