How to Interpret Resting-State fMRI: Ask Your Participants

Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) reveals brain dynamics in a task-unconstrained environment as subjects let their minds wander freely. Consequently, resting subjects navigate a rich space of cognitive and perceptual states (i.e., ongoing experience). How this ongoing experience shapes rsfMRI summary metrics (e.g., functional connectivity) is unknown, yet likely to contribute uniquely to within-and between-subject differences. Here we argue that understanding the role of ongoing experience in rsfMRI requires access to standardized, temporally resolved, scientifically validated first-person descriptions of those experiences. We suggest best practices for obtaining those descriptions via introspective methods appropriately adapted for use in fMRI research. We conclude with a set of guidelines for fusing these two data types to answer pressing questions about the etiology of rsfMRI.

Automated summary

Resting-state fMRI reveals brain dynamics in an unconstrained environment where subjects let their minds wander freely, navigating a rich space of cognitive and perceptual states. How ongoing experience influences rsfMRI summary metrics is unclear, but may uniquely contribute to differences within and between subjects. To understand this influence, standardized, temporally resolved, scientifically validated first-person descriptions of experiences are necessary.