An exploration of graph metric reproducibility in complex brain networks

Abstract

The application of graph theory to brain networks has become increasingly popular in the neuroimaging community. These investigations and analyses have led to a greater understanding of the brain's complex organization. More importantly, it has become a useful tool for studying the brain under various states and conditions. With the ever expanding popularity of network science in the neuroimaging community, there is increasing interest to validate the measurements and calculations derived from brain networks. Underpinning these studies is the desire to use brain networks in longitudinal studies or as clinical biomarkers to understand changes in the brain. A highly reproducible tool for brain imaging could potentially prove useful as a clinical tool. In this review, we examine recent studies in network reproducibility and their implications for analysis of brain networks. © 2013 Telesford, Burdette and Laurienti.