A spline-based regression parameter set for creating customized DARTEL MRI brain templates from infancy to old age

This dataset contains the regression parameters derived by analyzing segmented brain MRI images (gray matter and white matter) from a large population of healthy subjects, using a multivariate adaptive regression splines approach. A total of 1919 MRI datasets ranging in age from 1–75 years from four publicly available datasets (NIH, C-MIND, fCONN, and IXI) were segmented using the CAT12 segmentation framework, writing out gray matter and white matter images normalized using an affine-only spatial normalization approach. These images were then subjected to a six-step DARTEL procedure, employing an iterative non-linear registration approach and yielding increasingly crisp intermediate images. The resulting six datasets per tissue class were then analyzed using multivariate adaptive regression splines, using the CerebroMatic toolbox. This approach allows for flexibly modelling smoothly varying trajectories while taking into account demographic (age, gender) as well as technical (field strength, data quality) predictors. The resulting regression parameters described here can be used to generate matched DARTEL or SHOOT templates for a given population under study, from infancy to old age. The dataset and the algorithm used to generate it are publicly available at https://irc.cchmc.org/software/cerebromatic.php.