TY - JOUR

T1 - A checklist for assessing the methodological quality of concurrent tES-fMRI studies (ContES checklist)

T2 - a consensus study and statement

AU - Ekhtiari, Hamed

AU - Ghobadi-Azbari, Peyman

AU - Thielscher, Axel

AU - Antal, Andrea

AU - Li, Lucia M.

AU - Shereen, A. Duke

AU - Cabral-Calderin, Yuranny

AU - Keeser, Daniel

AU - Bergmann, Til Ole

AU - Jamil, Asif

AU - Violante, Ines R.

AU - Almeida, Jorge

AU - Meinzer, Marcus

AU - Siebner, Hartwig R.

AU - Woods, Adam J.

AU - Stagg, Charlotte J.

AU - Abend, Rany

AU - Antonenko, Daria

AU - Auer, Tibor

AU - Bächinger, Marc

AU - Baeken, Chris

AU - Barron, Helen C.

AU - Chase, Henry W.

AU - Crinion, Jenny

AU - Datta, Abhishek

AU - Davis, Matthew H.

AU - Ebrahimi, Mohsen

AU - Esmaeilpour, Zeinab

AU - Falcone, Brian

AU - Fiori, Valentina

AU - Ghodratitoostani, Iman

AU - Gilam, Gadi

AU - Grabner, Roland H.

AU - Greenspan, Joel D.

AU - Groen, Georg

AU - Hartwigsen, Gesa

AU - Hauser, Tobias U.

AU - Herrmann, Christoph S.

AU - Juan, Chi Hung

AU - Krekelberg, Bart

AU - Lefebvre, Stephanie

AU - Liew, Sook Lei

AU - Madsen, Kristoffer H.

AU - Mahdavifar-Khayati, Rasoul

AU - Malmir, Nastaran

AU - Marangolo, Paola

AU - Martin, Andrew K.

AU - Meeker, Timothy J.

AU - Ardabili, Hossein Mohaddes

AU - Moisa, Marius

AU - Momi, Davide

AU - Mulyana, Beni

AU - Opitz, Alexander

AU - Orlov, Natasza

AU - Ragert, Patrick

AU - Ruff, Christian C.

AU - Ruffini, Giulio

AU - Ruttorf, Michaela

AU - Sangchooli, Arshiya

AU - Schellhorn, Klaus

AU - Schlaug, Gottfried

AU - Sehm, Bernhard

AU - Soleimani, Ghazaleh

AU - Tavakoli, Hosna

AU - Thompson, Benjamin

AU - Timmann, Dagmar

AU - Tsuchiyagaito, Aki

AU - Ulrich, Martin

AU - Vosskuhl, Johannes

AU - Weinrich, Christiane A.

AU - Zare-Bidoky, Mehran

AU - Zhang, Xiaochu

AU - Zoefel, Benedikt

AU - Nitsche, Michael A.

AU - Bikson, Marom

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Low-intensity transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), including alternating or direct current stimulation, applies weak electrical stimulation to modulate the activity of brain circuits. Integration of tES with concurrent functional MRI (fMRI) allows for the mapping of neural activity during neuromodulation, supporting causal studies of both brain function and tES effects. Methodological aspects of tES-fMRI studies underpin the results, and reporting them in appropriate detail is required for reproducibility and interpretability. Despite the growing number of published reports, there are no consensus-based checklists for disclosing methodological details of concurrent tES-fMRI studies. The objective of this work was to develop a consensus-based checklist of reporting standards for concurrent tES-fMRI studies to support methodological rigor, transparency and reproducibility (ContES checklist). A two-phase Delphi consensus process was conducted by a steering committee (SC) of 13 members and 49 expert panelists through the International Network of the tES-fMRI Consortium. The process began with a circulation of a preliminary checklist of essential items and additional recommendations, developed by the SC on the basis of a systematic review of 57 concurrent tES-fMRI studies. Contributors were then invited to suggest revisions or additions to the initial checklist. After the revision phase, contributors rated the importance of the 17 essential items and 42 additional recommendations in the final checklist. The state of methodological transparency within the 57 reviewed concurrent tES-fMRI studies was then assessed by using the checklist. Experts refined the checklist through the revision and rating phases, leading to a checklist with three categories of essential items and additional recommendations: (i) technological factors, (ii) safety and noise tests and (iii) methodological factors. The level of reporting of checklist items varied among the 57 concurrent tES-fMRI papers, ranging from 24% to 76%. On average, 53% of checklist items were reported in a given article. In conclusion, use of the ContES checklist is expected to enhance the methodological reporting quality of future concurrent tES-fMRI studies and increase methodological transparency and reproducibility.

AB - Low-intensity transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), including alternating or direct current stimulation, applies weak electrical stimulation to modulate the activity of brain circuits. Integration of tES with concurrent functional MRI (fMRI) allows for the mapping of neural activity during neuromodulation, supporting causal studies of both brain function and tES effects. Methodological aspects of tES-fMRI studies underpin the results, and reporting them in appropriate detail is required for reproducibility and interpretability. Despite the growing number of published reports, there are no consensus-based checklists for disclosing methodological details of concurrent tES-fMRI studies. The objective of this work was to develop a consensus-based checklist of reporting standards for concurrent tES-fMRI studies to support methodological rigor, transparency and reproducibility (ContES checklist). A two-phase Delphi consensus process was conducted by a steering committee (SC) of 13 members and 49 expert panelists through the International Network of the tES-fMRI Consortium. The process began with a circulation of a preliminary checklist of essential items and additional recommendations, developed by the SC on the basis of a systematic review of 57 concurrent tES-fMRI studies. Contributors were then invited to suggest revisions or additions to the initial checklist. After the revision phase, contributors rated the importance of the 17 essential items and 42 additional recommendations in the final checklist. The state of methodological transparency within the 57 reviewed concurrent tES-fMRI studies was then assessed by using the checklist. Experts refined the checklist through the revision and rating phases, leading to a checklist with three categories of essential items and additional recommendations: (i) technological factors, (ii) safety and noise tests and (iii) methodological factors. The level of reporting of checklist items varied among the 57 concurrent tES-fMRI papers, ranging from 24% to 76%. On average, 53% of checklist items were reported in a given article. In conclusion, use of the ContES checklist is expected to enhance the methodological reporting quality of future concurrent tES-fMRI studies and increase methodological transparency and reproducibility.

U2 - 10.1038/s41596-021-00664-5

DO - 10.1038/s41596-021-00664-5

M3 - Review

C2 - 35121855

AN - SCOPUS:85125077455

VL - 17

SP - 596

EP - 617

JO - Nature Protocols

JF - Nature Protocols

SN - 1754-2189

IS - 3

ER -