Big Brains, Small Effects: Thousands Needed for Reliable Brain Scans

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

Brain-wide association studies (BWAS) need thousands of participants for reliable results, as effect sizes are smaller than previously thought. Sampling variability in smaller studies leads to inflated and often irreproducible findings, emphasizing the need for larger, well-powered studies in future BWAS research.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that to truly understand how our brains work, they need to study thousands of people. Looking at just a few can make them think something is true when it's not, meaning their findings won't be reliable.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

E.A.E., D.A.F., and N.U.F.D. have financial interests in NOUS Imaging Inc. related to FIRMM motion-monitoring software. O.M.-D., E.A.E., A.N.V., D.A.F., and N.U.F.D. may also receive royalties from FIRMM technology.

Identified Limitations

Limited Generalizability

The study acknowledges that the ABCD, HCP, and UKB samples, while large, are not fully population representative. This limits the generalizability of the findings to other populations.

Lower Power and Higher Error Rates Compared to Other Neuroimaging Approaches

BWAS has lower power and higher error rates than other neuroimaging approaches like lesion studies or interventions. This makes it more challenging to detect and replicate true brain-behavior associations.

Potential for Oversimplification with Correlations and Standard Multivariate Models

Although the study uses large datasets, the reliance on correlations and standard multivariate models might not fully capture the complex relationships between brain and behavior. More sophisticated modeling techniques might be needed.

Rating Explanation

This study addresses a crucial issue in neuroimaging research: the reproducibility of brain-wide association studies (BWAS). Using massive datasets, the authors demonstrate the need for thousands of participants to achieve reliable results, challenging previous smaller studies. While limitations regarding generalizability and reliance on correlations exist, the sheer scale of the analysis and its implications for future research warrant a strong rating. The declared conflicts of interest are noted and considered in the rating.

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Life Sciences

Field: Neuroscience

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

File Information

Original Title: Reproducible brain-wide association studies require thousands of individuals

Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 10:35 AM

Privacy: Public