{"title":"Neural representation of allegedly sex-specific human body odor compounds","authors":"Camille Ferdenzi , Arnaud Fournel , Luca Fantin , Stéphane Richard Ortegón , Cédric Manesse , Nicolas Baldovini , Marc Thévenet , Franck Lamberton , Danielle Ibarrola , Frédéric Faure , Moustafa Bensafi","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Body odors play an important role in nonverbal communication, and particularly in one's attractiveness. However, their central processing remains underexplored, especially as a function of gender. This study aims at identifying the neural networks involved in the processing of two allegedly sex-specific human body odor compounds (3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid, HMHA, and 3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol, MSH). We hypothesized that i) these body odors would be processed by different brain regions than non-body odors, and that ii) their role in attractiveness, if any, would be indicated by the activation of specific regions and by differential verbal and neurophysiological responses in men and women. Thirty participants (15 men, 15 women) performed a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) session during which they rated the attractiveness of HMHA, MSH, and 5 non-body odorants. At the end of the session, participants rated all odors on multiple perceptual scales. HMHA activated visual (striate area and occipital gyrus) rather than olfactory brain regions. Men rated HMHA as more masculine than women did, and presented greater neural activity in the superior and medial frontal gyri while women activated the inferior frontal gyrus significantly more than men in response to this odor. MSH was processed as the other non-body odors, and not subject to gender differences. The results suggest that HMHA (not MSH) bears specific social information, resulting in a neural processing outside the main olfactory network. It is also processed differently in men and women, although our findings do not provide clear evidence in favor of relevance for one's attractiveness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121114"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143630562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tracking microstructural adaptations in primary visual areas: A diffusion kurtosis imaging study on visuomotor learning","authors":"Fahad Alharshan , Abdulrahman Aloufi , Fiona Rowe , Georg Meyer","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the potential of Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) to detect microstructural changes induced by visuomotor training and its added value over Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI).</div><div>Fourteen healthy participants completed a six-week home-based eye movement training intervention. Pre-and post-training DKI scans were analysed. Descriptive analysis, including the Coefficient of Variation (CV) and Bland-Altman (BA) metrics, was used to assess training effects.</div><div>Results revealed significant reductions in kurtosis (MK, RK, AK) and diffusivity (MD) in task-relevant areas, particularly the cuneus, with overlapping findings between DKI and DTI-derived measures. In contrast, the pericalcarine area showed reductions only in MK and AK, suggesting that kurtosis metrics were more sensitive in this region. Increases in KA and FA post-training were not significant. BA analysis confirmed systematic training-related changes in the visual target area, while the transverse temporal gyrus, used as a control, remained stable, providing evidence for the specificity of these effects.</div><div>These findings highlight DKI's ability to capture training-induced microstructural changes, complementing DTI. Among the metrics, AK emerged as a stable, sensitive marker, while MK and RK provided additional insights with greater variability. This study underscores the role of the cuneus in visuomotor adaptation and the potential of DKI to measure microstructural change cognitive training and neurorehabilitation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121138"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143621537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-10DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121136
Kentaro Takai , Shunsuke Sugiyama , Koji Inui , Yuka Ikegame , Hirohito Yano , Jun Shinoda , Makoto Nishihara , Kazutaka Ohi , Toshiki Shioiri
{"title":"Examining the role of novelty detection in 20- and 40-Hz auditory steady-state responses","authors":"Kentaro Takai , Shunsuke Sugiyama , Koji Inui , Yuka Ikegame , Hirohito Yano , Jun Shinoda , Makoto Nishihara , Kazutaka Ohi , Toshiki Shioiri","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An auditory steady-state response (ASSR) is an electrophysiological response to periodic stimuli that reflects the synchronization of endogenous oscillations. The 40-Hz ASSR is reduced in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder, making it a candidate biomarker for these psychiatric disorders. Previous studies have revealed that experimental conditions such as stimulus duration and inter-stimulus interval tend to affect ASSR, suggesting that novelty detection may play an important role in determining the magnitude of ASSR. The present study is the first to investigate the effect of novelty detection on 20- and 40-Hz ASSRs in healthy individuals. Magnetoencephalography recordings were obtained from 30 healthy adults exposed to auditory stimuli at 20 and 40 Hz. The stimuli were presented in three paradigms: 20- and 40-Hz repetitive presentations and random presentation, the latter being categorized by whether the preceding stimulus was the same (S trials) or different (D trials). The ASSR amplitude and inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) were assessed via time-frequency analysis. The results revealed that the 20-Hz ASSR was suppressed with increased novelty, with the highest amplitude and ITPC observed during repetitive presentation. In contrast, the 40-Hz ASSR was enhanced by increased novelty, with the greatest measures observed during the D trials. These findings show that novelty detection modulates 20- and 40-Hz ASSRs in opposite directions, highlighting its critical role in shaping stimulus-induced oscillatory responses. This frequency-specific modulation pattern may provide a novel perspective for understanding ASSR abnormalities in psychiatric disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121136"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143610542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-09DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121113
Jennifer Pomp , Moritz F. Wurm , Rosari N. Selvan , Florentin Wörgötter , Ricarda I. Schubotz
{"title":"Touching-untouching patterns organize action representation in the inferior parietal cortex","authors":"Jennifer Pomp , Moritz F. Wurm , Rosari N. Selvan , Florentin Wörgötter , Ricarda I. Schubotz","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121113","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121113","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>At an abstract temporospatial level, object-directed actions can be described as sequences of touchings and untouchings of objects, hands, and the ground. These sparse action codes can effectively guide automated systems like robots in recognizing and responding to human actions without the need for object identification. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether the neural processing of actions and their behavioral classification relies on the action categorization derived from the touching-untouching structure. Here we show, using a representational similarity analysis of functional MRI data from two experiments, that action representations in left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) are particularly associated with this categorization of touching-untouching structures. Within the examined action observation network, only the touching-untouching category model selectively correlated with the representational profile of the left aIPS. The behavioral results showed a significant relation between the touching-untouching structure and the observers’ judgments on the similarity of actions with weakly-informative objects. Extending prior research on touchings and untouchings as meaningful anchor points for explicit action segmentation, our findings suggest that touching-untouching sequences serve as an organizing principle in inferior parietal action representation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121113"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143579410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121133
Jingjing Chang , Di Song , Ke Yang , Rongjun Yu
{"title":"Neural signatures of acute stress on the intention and outcome in third-party punishment: Evidence from univariate and multivariate analysis","authors":"Jingjing Chang , Di Song , Ke Yang , Rongjun Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121133","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121133","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Third-party punishment, a crucial element of prosocial behavior, involves individuals penalizing wrongdoers who harm the interests of others, even when their own interests are unaffected. Considering that third-party punishment behavior frequently arises in acute stress situations, understanding how stress influences such behavior is important. By using a modified economic game paradigm, this study investigates the impact of acute stress (induced through the Trier Social Stress Test) on the intention and outcome factors in third-party punishment, encompassing both behavioral and neural responses. Moreover, in addition to the conventional univariate activation analysis utilized in previous research, we also implemented multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA). On a behavioral level, participants displayed an increased inclination to allocate more tokens for punishing the dictator in scenarios involving unfair intentions or outcomes, and acute stress heightened the participants' sensitivity to the fairness of both intention and outcome. At the neural level, both univariate and multivariate analyses highlighted the crucial role of Theory of Mind (ToM)-related brain regions and the dACC in processing information related to intention and outcome. The MVPA further revealed distinctive neural activation patterns influenced by acute stress, particularly in the processing of intention. Specifically, brain regions within the ToM-related network showed an enhanced ability to differentiate between fair and unfair intentions in the stress group. Our findings suggest that stress has the potential to sensitize individuals to moral awareness during interpersonal interactions by facilitating perspective-taking and intentional attribution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121133"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143594018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121115
Karine Pelc , Aleksandra Gajewska , Natan Napiórkowski , Jonathan Dan , Caroline Verhoeven , Bernard Dan
{"title":"Longitudinal high-density cortical auditory event-related potentials and speech-sound discrimination in the first two years of life in extremely and very preterm infants without developmental disorders","authors":"Karine Pelc , Aleksandra Gajewska , Natan Napiórkowski , Jonathan Dan , Caroline Verhoeven , Bernard Dan","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121115","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121115","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Maturation of the auditory system in early childhood significantly influences the development of language-related perceptual and cognitive abilities. This study aims to provide insights into the neurophysiological changes underlying auditory processing and speech-sound discrimination in the first two years of life. We conducted a study using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to longitudinally record cortical auditory event-related potentials (CAEP) in response to synthesized syllable sounds with pitch/duration change in a cohort of 79 extremely and very preterm-born infants without developmental disorders. EEG were recorded at 6 timepoints from term to 24 months corrected age, using a pseudorandom oddball paradigm. We found that the infant-P1 component of CAEP showed decreasing latency with age and more focalized cortical source stabilizing in the left primary auditory cortex by 6 months. By 6 months, a negative infant-N1 component emerged, its amplitude increasing with age and source localization showing increasing distribution over the left temporal, parietal and frontal lobes. Mismatch responses demonstrated significant differences in auditory discrimination capabilities starting from 6 months, indicating the infants' ability to detect phonetic differences. There was no correlation between infant-P1 latency, infant-P1 amplitude or mismatch response at term age and gestational age. This study suggests that cortical sound detection occurs very early and is not significantly influenced by the extent of prematurity but rather by corrected age. Early sound detection is followed by cortical sound content processing from about 6 months, with gradual organization along the cortical auditory dorsal stream and mirror neuron system in the first two years of life. Auditory discrimination of speech sounds also significantly changes from around 6 months of age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121115"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121110
Pierre Courault , Inés Mérida , Nicolas Costes , Jérôme Redoute , Luc Zimmer , Sophie Lancelot
{"title":"PET imaging of functional 5-HT1A receptors with [18F]F13640: From PET kinetics modeling to static Standardized Uptake Values Ratio","authors":"Pierre Courault , Inés Mérida , Nicolas Costes , Jérôme Redoute , Luc Zimmer , Sophie Lancelot","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121110","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121110","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>F13640 is a highly selective serotonin 5-HT<sub>1A</sub> receptor ligand with agonist properties identified as a PET radiopharmaceutical candidate. In previous work, we showed the possibility to use long dynamic PET acquisition (225 min) combined with simplified kinetic modelling for [<sup>18</sup>F]F13640 quantification. In this work, we assessed the feasibility of static acquisition and quantification using standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) as an alternative.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Test-retest PET-MRI scans of 225 min were conducted in eight healthy male volunteers. For 17 brain regions, distribution volume ratios (DVR) were calculated from the whole kinetics using Logan plot modelling method with the cerebellum white matter as reference region. For the same regions, SUVR were also calculated from static images, for four 20-minute and four 10-minute time-intervals at various time of uptake. Reliability between SUVR and DVR measures were studied, and test-retest parameters were assessed between PET sessions for each time-interval.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Reproducibility of measures of SUVR compared to DVR were excellent, whatever the time interval (<em>p</em> < 0.001). For the 20-min. time-intervals, SUVR<sub>150–170</sub> showed the best reproducibility and correlation parameters (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.95 ± 0.03, intercept = 0.06 ± 0.02, slope = 0.95 ± 0.01). As well, for the 10-min. time-intervals, SUVR<sub>150–160</sub> showed the best correlation (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.94 ± 0.03, intercept = 0.07 ± 0.02, slope = 0.94 ± 0.01). SUVR reproducibility between test-retest sessions was also excellent for each time-interval. These results were valid for pooled regions as well as at regional level.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study confirms the feasibility of static acquisitions to facilitate clinical use of the [<sup>18</sup>F]F13640 radiopharmaceutical to image functional 5-HT<sub>1A</sub> receptors. This involves off-camera injection, 10 to 20 mins static acquisition duration, and quantification using SUVR, while improving patient comfort.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121110"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143594184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Latent preference representation in the human brain for scented products: Effects of novelty and familiarity","authors":"Toshiki Okumura , Kai Saito , Risako Harada , Tohru Ohki , Hiroyuki Hanihara , Ikuhiro Kida","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Decoding latent preferences for novel products is crucial for understanding decision-making processes, especially when subjective evaluations are unclear. Brain activity in regions like the medial orbitofrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) correlates with subjective preferences. However, whether these regions represent preferences toward novel products and whether coding persists after familiarity remain unclear. We examined the brain coding of latent preferences for novel scented products and how they evolve with familiarity. We measured functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals evoked by three fabric softener odors, both when novel and when familiar, in 25 previously unexposed females. To obtain reliable preferences, participants chose one softener after using all three twice at home after the first fMRI measurement (Day 1) and continued using it at home for four months until the second day of the fMRI measurement (Day 2). Subjective ratings were also obtained after each fMRI run. On Day 1, no significant differences in subjective ratings between selected and non-selected odors were found. However, the decoding analysis revealed that future odor preferences for novel products were coded in several regions, including the left superior frontal lobe (SF), right NAcc, and left piriform cortex. On Day 2, the left SF continued to encode preferences after familiarity. These results suggest that odor preferences for novel products are coded in the brain even without conscious awareness, and that the coding in the SF is robust against familiarity. These findings provide insights into a more comprehensive understanding of the brain coding of latent preferences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121131"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-07DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121128
Xiang Zhou , Ya‑Yin Deng , Long Qian , Shuang‑Shuang Zhong , Feng‑Yun Zou , Li‑Shan Shen , Xiao‑Wen Luo , Bo-Ya Yin , Yi-Fan He , Ruo‑Mi Guo
{"title":"Alterations in brain iron and myelination in children with ASD: A susceptibility source separation imaging study","authors":"Xiang Zhou , Ya‑Yin Deng , Long Qian , Shuang‑Shuang Zhong , Feng‑Yun Zou , Li‑Shan Shen , Xiao‑Wen Luo , Bo-Ya Yin , Yi-Fan He , Ruo‑Mi Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121128","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121128","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have both brain iron and myelin changes, but traditional methods fail to differentiate them. This study utilized an advanced susceptibility source separation technique, APART-QSM (iterAtive magnetic suscePtibility sources sepARaTion), to investigate brain iron and myelination alterations in children with ASD and link neuroimaging findings to clinical symptom severity. Sixty-five school-aged children with ASD and Sixty age- and sex-matched typically developing children were included. By providing enhanced and broader detection capabilities compared to conventional QSM, APART-QSM uncovered reduced iron content across multiple deep gray matters and decreased myelin content in the globus pallidum in ASD. The iron and myelin contents in the globus pallidum and iron content in the substantia nigra were significantly negatively correlated with ASD symptom severity. Coexisting abnormal brain iron and myelin contents in ASD, particularly in the globus pallidus, offer innovative and promising insights into ASD pathology and potential biomarkers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121128"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143579409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-03-07DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121104
Qi Zeng, Weide Liu, Bo Li, Ryne Didier, P. Ellen Grant, Davood Karimi
{"title":"Towards automatic US-MR fetal brain image registration with learning-based methods","authors":"Qi Zeng, Weide Liu, Bo Li, Ryne Didier, P. Ellen Grant, Davood Karimi","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121104","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121104","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fetal brain imaging is essential for prenatal care, with ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) providing complementary strengths. While MRI has superior soft tissue contrast, US offers portable and inexpensive screening of neurological abnormalities. Despite the great potential synergy of combined fetal brain US and MR imaging to enhance diagnostic accuracy, little effort has been made to integrate these modalities. An essential step towards this integration is accurate automatic spatial alignment, which is technically very challenging due to the inherent differences in contrast and modality-specific imaging artifacts. In this work, we present a novel atlas-assisted multi-task learning technique to address this problem. Instead of training the registration model solely with intra-subject US-MR image pairs, our approach enables the network to also learn from domain-specific image-to-atlas registration tasks. This leads to an end-to-end multi-task learning framework with superior registration performance. Our proposed method was validated using a dataset of same-day intra-subject 3D US-MR image pairs. The results show that our method outperforms conventional optimization-based methods and recent learning-based techniques for rigid image registration. Specifically, the average target registration error for our method is less than 4 mm, which is significantly better than existing methods. Extensive experiments have also shown that our method has a much wider capture range and is robust to brain abnormalities. Given these advantages over existing techniques, our method is more suitable for deployment in clinical workflows and may contribute to streamlined multimodal imaging pipelines for fetal brain assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 121104"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}