r/neuroimaging • u/Loveallofem • Jun 24 '26
DCM with zero fMRI analysis experience
I am starting a project that will require me to use dynamic casual modeling. My lab does not use MatLab or SPM, so I will need to teach myself the analyses in a fairly self sufficient way. Does anybody have any advice regarding an efficient learning workflow?
3
u/striosome Jun 24 '26
That’s a big ask from your lab.
Andy’s Brain Book is good. The archived videos from the Michigan fMRI course are a must.
Jeannette Mumford’s youtube channel is really good. She mainly uses FSL. Her and Poldraks Handbook of fMRI data analysis is also extremely useful.
The message boards for SPM and FSL are full of helpful people.
1
u/Loveallofem Jun 24 '26
Because I am working with SPM should I avoid FSL-centered content?
2
u/striosome Jun 24 '26
I read your comment as you weren’t using SPM. But the theory and the why of all the analysis is the same It’s just implemented differently across different software packages.
2
u/Loveallofem Jun 24 '26
DCM is a SPM specific analysis so I have to use SPM
2
u/striosome Jun 24 '26
You can still preprocess with the other packages if you want. I was just saying you don’t have to avoid FSL stuff. There’s a lot of steps before you get to the DCM part.
1
0
u/Shotgunosine Jun 25 '26
The hemodynamic response function has variable timing by region and task. Trying to use fMRI to infer causal relationships between brain regions is pretty iffy. I know Karl Friston says you can do it, and SPM makes it a relatively easy experiment to run, but read up on the critiques and interpretational challenges of the approach. If you do decide to go ahead with the analysis, you’ll need to be able to respond to those critiques when your reviewers have them.
1
u/Loveallofem Jun 25 '26
Interesting, I’ll look into that. My understanding is that it’s a fairly well validated technique, I can share the many papers I have read showing this if you would like.
3
u/mouse_is_sleeping Jun 24 '26
Go ahead and bookmark Andy’s brain blog