# Comprehensive prospective correction of head motion in functional MRI

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $732,220

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is widely used to study how the human brain interacts with the
world and how regions of the brain function as networks. However, head movement during the experiment –
even just a few millimeters – leads to errors in the results. This problem confounds research conclusions and
often severely limits studies in populations that are likely to move, such as young children. Previous research
on motion in fMRI has shown that simply correcting for the head movement with prospective motion correction
of the image encoding is not sufficient to recover artifact-free data and accurate resting-state networks, i.e., the
secondary effects of head movement on the fMRI experiment must also be addressed. Hence in this project
we will develop comprehensive correction of head motion by developing acquisition and analysis software to
measure, understand, and correct the relevant effects of head motion. We will develop MR navigator scanner
software to perform real-time measurements of head motion, the B0 environment, and the B1– receive intensity
profile and account for these effects prospectively during acquisition, in image reconstruction, and in data
analysis. Our aim is to produce acquisition, image reconstruction, and analysis tools that can be easily
distributed to researchers to further our understanding of motion artifacts in fMRI and provide stable, high-
quality data that allow for accurate assessment of functional networks despite being acquired during head
motion.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10857573
- **Project number:** 1R01EB035560-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephen Robert Frost
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $732,220
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10857573

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10857573, Comprehensive prospective correction of head motion in functional MRI (1R01EB035560-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-16 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10857573. Licensed CC0.

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