Quantile rank maps: a new tool for understanding individual brain development.

ABSTRACT: We propose a novel method for neurodevelopmental brain mapping that displays how an individual's values for a quantity of interest compare with age-specific norms. By estimating smoothly age-varying distributions at a set of brain regions of interest, we derive age-dependent region-wise quantile ranks for a given individual, which can be presented in the form of a brain map. Such quantile rank maps could potentially be used for clinical screening. Bootstrap-based confidence intervals are proposed for the quantile rank estimates. We also propose a recalibrated Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for detecting group differences in the age-varying distribution. This test is shown to be more robust to model misspecification than a linear regression-based test. The proposed methods are applied to brain ima

SUBMITTER: Chen H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4387093 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature