Statistical analysis of multi-subject fMRI data: Assessment of focal activations

Abstract

A simple procedure for analyzing multi-subject functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data is proposed. In the first step, a voxel-wise t- test across standardized z-maps is performed to identify areas that are consistently activated across subjects. In the second step, for each area, individual mean z-scores are calculated and subsequently subjected to an analysis of variance. An example is provided.