The interplay between brain, behavior, and cognition from childhood to adulthood: Panel discussion with independent research groups on simulated datasets

[nedasadeghi]

By Neda Sadeghi, Isabelle van der Velpen, and Tonya White, Social and Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience, NIMH

Emergent sessions

Short description and the goals for the session

Neuroimaging has contributed considerably to our understanding of brain development and its relationship to cognition and behavior. However, despite advancements in neuroimaging, replicability in research remains a key issue and there is no gold standard that can be used to evaluate neuroanatomical correlates of cognition, behavior and their interplay. Researchers from NIMH, McGill, Georgia Tech, Western Ontario, Beijing Normal, the Radboud UMC/Donders, Forschungszentrum Juelich, and University of Oslo have each independently created simulated datasets of the interplay between brain development and behavior. Each group has worked independently and unaware of the approaches and assumptions made by the other groups. Each group was provided the same number of variables and were instructed to create three datasets with each embedding how they envision the interplay between brain development, behavior, and cognition emerges throughout development. We are releasing these simulated datasets to challenge/invite the research community to determine the underlying patterns and assumptions used to generate the simulated datasets. Each dataset contains 10,000 participants over 7 longitudinal waves and ranging from age 7 to 20. During this panel discussion, we will talk about brain development and the challenges and opportunities that modeling offers us, as well as answer any questions the research community might have about the simulated datasets. The code and descriptions of the models that were used to create the datasets will be released at the time of the OHBM meeting in 2025 in Brisbane.

Useful Links

Simulation Project

Participating Groups

Beijing Normal University
Zi-Xuan Zhou
Xi-Nian Zuo

Forschungszentrum Juelich and University of Oslo
Anna Plachti
Øystein Sørensen
Sarah Genon

Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory
Vince D. Calhoun
Masoud Seraji
Ishaan Batta
Rogers Ferreira Da Silva
Najme Soleimani
Bradley T Baker
Kyle Joseph Cahill

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Tonya White
Neda Sadeghi
Isabelle van der Velpen
Philip Shaw
Audrey Thurm
Dustin Moraczewski
Adam Thomas

Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain
Rogier Kievit
Léa Michel
Ethan McCormick
Emma Sprooten

University of Western Ontario, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, and McGill University
Mallar Chakravarty
J Bruce Morton
Ashley Daniel Wazana

Tagging @nedasadeghi, @ivdvelpen, @tjhwhite, @dmoracze