Quantifying brain development in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study: The magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy protocol
Douglas Dean, M. Dylan Tisdall, Jessica L. Wisnowski, Eric Feczko, Borjan Gagoski, Andrew L. Alexander, Richard A.E. Edden, Wei Gao, Timothy Hendrickson, Brittany Howell, Hao Huang, Kathryn L. Humphreys, Tracy Riggins, Chad M. Sylvester, Kimberly B. Weldon, Essa Yacoub, Banu Ahtam, Natacha Beck, Suchandrima Banerjee, Sergiy Boroday, Arvind Caprihan, B. Caron, Samuel Carpenter, Yulin V. Chang, Ai Wern Chung, Matthew Cieslak, William T. Clarke, Anders M. Dale, Samir Das, Christopher W. Davies‐Jenkins, Alexander J. Dufford, Alan C. Evans, Laetitia Fesselier, Sandeep Ganji, Guillaume Gilbert, Alice M. Graham, Aaron T. Gudmundson, Maren Macgregor-Hannah, Michael P. Harms, Tom Hilbert, Steve C. N. Hui, M. Okan İrfanoğlu, Steven Kecskemeti, Tobias Kober, Joshua Kuperman, Bidhan Lamichhane, Bennett A. Landman, Xavier Lecour-Bourcher, Erik Lee, Xu Li, Leigh MacIntyre, Cécile Madjar, Mary Kate Manhard, Andrew R. Mayer, Kahini Mehta, Lucille A. Moore, Saipavitra Murali‐Manohar, Cristian Navarro, Mary Beth Nebel, Sharlene D. Newman, Allen T. Newton, Ralph Noeske, Elizabeth S. Norton, Georg Oeltzschner, Regis Ongaro-Carcy, Xiawei Ou, Minhui Ouyang, Todd B. Parrish, James J. Pekar, Thomas Pengo, Carlo Pierpaoli, Russell A. Poldrack, Vidya Rajagopalan, Dan Rettmann, Pierre Rioux, Jens T. Rosenberg, Taylor Salo, Theodore D Satterthwaite, Lisa S. Scott, Eunkyung Shin, Gizeaddis Simegn, W. Kyle Simmons, Yulu Song, Barry J Tikalsky, Jean A. Tkach, Peter C.M. van Zijl, Jennifer Vannest, Maarten J. Versluis, Yansong Zhao, Helge J. Zöllner, Damien A. Fair, Christopher D. Smyser, Jed T. Elison
Abstract
The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. The acquisition of multimodal magnetic resonance-based brain development data is central to the study's core protocol. However, application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) methods in this population is complicated by technical challenges and difficulties of imaging in early life. Overcoming these challenges requires an innovative and harmonized approach, combining age-appropriate acquisition protocols together with specialized pediatric neuroimaging strategies. The HBCD MRI Working Group aimed to establish a core acquisition protocol for all 27 HBCD Study recruitment sites to measure brain structure, function, microstructure, and metabolites. Acquisition parameters of individual modalities have been matched across MRI scanner platforms for harmonized acquisitions and state-of-the-art technologies are employed to enable faster and motion-robust imaging. Here, we provide an overview of the HBCD MRI protocol, including decisions of individual modalities and preliminary data. The result will be an unparalleled resource for examining early neurodevelopment which enables the larger scientific community to assess normative trajectories from birth through childhood and to examine the genetic, biological, and environmental factors that help shape the developing brain.