Influence of Parameter Settings in Voxel-based Morphometry 8

Gray matter volumetry (i.e., atlas-based volumetry [1, 2]) and morphometry (i.e., voxel-based morphometry (VBM) [3]) using three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (3D-T1WIs) with spatial normalization have been used to estimate local brain volume in normal subjects [4 –7] and in patients (e.g., in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [8], epilepsy[9], diabetes [10], and panic disorder [11]). In VBM, a brain tissue segmentation process is necessary to divide T1WI into gray matter, white matter, and cerebral spinal fluid images. Because computer analysis is used for VBM, the results are influenced by the quality of these segmented images. Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) [12] is the most commonly used method in studies that employ the gray matter segmentation technique. The computation algorithms of SPM (i.e., SPM 99, SPM 2, SPM 5, and SPM 8) have been changed over time. Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie Algebra (DARTEL) has recently attracted atten