I would think that it is quite reasonable to analyze the imaging data across
conditions that don't show any differences in RT or accuracy, particularly if
there are hypotheses about differential activation across the conditions in
question. For one, it could be the case that there is some cognitive process
that varies across the conditions but the behavioral measure is not sensitive
enough to find this difference whereas the imaging measure might be more
sensitive.
cheers,
russ
Greig de Zubicaray wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I have a thorny question motivated by a reviewer's comments on one of our
> fMRI papers.
>
> Briefly, we used a memory task with variable delay periods. However, we did
> not find significant differences in terms of either accuracy or RT across
> the delays. Therefore, we did not look for an effect of delay in the fMRI
> data. The reviewer is requesting that we revise the paper to include this
> analysis.
>
> Does anyone know of any references addressing whether it's "good form" to
> perform analyses of neuroimaging data in the absence of a significant
> behavioural effect? Any views on this issue?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Regards,
>
> Greig
>
> --
> Dr Greig de Zubicaray
> Centre for Magnetic Resonance
> The University of Queensland
> Brisbane, QLD 4072
> AUSTRALIA
>
> Tel: +61 (0) 7 3365 4250 [direct]
> +61 (0) 7 3365 4100 [CMR]
> Fax: +61 (0) 7 3365 3833
--
Russell A. Poldrack, Ph. D.
MGH-NMR Center
Building 149, 13th St.
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Web Page: http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/~poldrack
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