A Manual, Semi-Automated and Automated ROI Study of fMRI Hemodynamic Response in the Caudate Nucleus

This study investigated abnormalities of fMRI Hemodynamic Response (HR) in the caudate nucleus in schizophrenia with manual, semi-automated and automated approaches. The three approaches were applied to generate the Region of Interest (ROI) and extract fMRI HR from the ROI. Compared with controls, less activation with delayed fMRI HR in the caudate were observed in the patient group. High correlations of the AUC were found between the manual and semiautomated ROI approaches, but not between the manual and the automated ROI approach. In addition, the location and size of the automated box ROI are critical for the fMRI HR curve extracted. The abnormal fMRI hemodynamic response in the caudate in the patient group may suggest functional deficits in the frontal-striatal-thalamic circuit in schizophrenia. To speed up fMRI data analysis in anatomical ROI, the semi-automated approach may be used as an alternative to the manual approach in detecting fMRI experimental effect.