Journal article
Problems with ratio and proportion measures of imaged cerebral structures
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging, Vol.40(1), pp.79-89
1991
DOI: 10.1016/0925-4927(91)90031-K
PMID: 1946842
Abstract
Ratio measures, such as the ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) based on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, are widely used in psychiatric research in studies of brain function and morphology. While imaging techniques have advanced considerably, the form of the index of a structure's size has remained the same—a proportion based on an estimate of the structure's size divided by a like estimate of the whole brain size. We demonstrate that ratio and similar indices can suffer greatly in reliability when compared with simple volume measures. This loss of reliability is related to the relation of a structure's size and whole brain size. We review various methods for measuring the size of structures and discuss their strengths and limitations in terms of reliability and validity. In many instances, other methods of “correcting” for brain size (e.g., regression or covariance) may yield measurements that are more appropriate than ratios.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Problems with ratio and proportion measures of imaged cerebral structures
- Creators
- Stephan Arndt - Stephan Arndt, Ph.D., is Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, University of Iowa College of Medicine, USAGregg CohenRandall J AlligerVictor W SwayzeNancy C Andreasen
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging, Vol.40(1), pp.79-89
- DOI
- 10.1016/0925-4927(91)90031-K
- PMID
- 1946842
- NLM abbreviation
- Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging
- ISSN
- 0925-4927
- eISSN
- 1872-7506
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ireland Ltd
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 1991
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Biostatistics; Nursing; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984003401802771
Metrics
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