Evaluating a new paediatric MRI protocol : evidence from self-report and behavioural data

Abstract

The use fMRI for paediatric neuroimaging is rapidly growing yet the literature on MRI–preparation is limited, and the inconsistent reporting of fMRI success rates hinders comparison between studies. The current study examined the effects of a comprehensive and inexpensive paediatric MRI protocol on child and parent anxiety, the influence of parents’ anxiety on their child’s anxiety, the predictive ability of pre-scan anxiety on in-scanner head motion, and the effects of the time lapsed (between the pre-MRI preparation session and the actual MRI scanning session) on the child and parent anxiety. 16 healthy children and 11 children with dyslexia and their parents were prepared for a task-based fMRI scanning session using the new paediatric MRI protocol. Anxiety was measured prior to and after the protocol training and the scanning session. In-scanner head motion was computed for the child participants. Results demonstrate that the MRI protocol is effective in reducing child and parent anxiety. The success rate of the protocol is also higher than that of similar studies. Results suggest that parental influence on their child’s anxiety levels was not as strong was originally thought. Lastly, pre-scan child and parent anxiety was not associated with later child in-scanner head motion, nor was time lapsed associated with child and parent anxiety levels. Overall, these results endorse the adoption of the present paediatric MRI protocol, and clarifies the associations between parent–child anxiety, anxiety and head motion, and time lapsed and anxiety. Guidelines for reporting success rates are also outlined.