Statistical Analysis of Functional MRI Data using Independent Component Analysis

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a technique to map the brain, anatomically as well as physiologically, which does not require any invasive analysis. In order to obtain brain activation maps, the subject under study must perform a task or be exposed to an external stimulus. At the same time a large amount of images are acquired using ultra-fast sequences through magnetic resonance. Afterwards, these images are processed and analyzed with statistical algorithms. This study was made in collaboration with the consolidated Neuropsychology Research Group of the University of Barcelona, focusing on applications of fMRI for the study of brain function in images obtained with various subjects. This group performed a study which analyzed fMRI data, acquired with various subjects, using the General Linear Model (GLM). The aim of our work was to analyze the same fMRI data using Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and compare the results with those obtained through GLM. Results showed that ICA was able to find more active networks than GLM. The activations were found in frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal areas.