This study examines how BMI relates to brain microstructure across adolescence, finding nonlinear associations that intensify at higher BMI percentiles.

bioRxiv · Sep 4, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

A 3D Brain Geometry Toolkit for Multisite Neuroimaging Analysis

Yanghee Im, Melody J.Y. Kang, Boris A. Gutman, Pravesh Parekh, Diliana Pecheva, Anders Martin Dale, Ole A. Andreassen, Paul M. Thompson, Christopher R. K. Ching, for the ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group

The paper introduces a 3D brain geometry toolkit for multisite neuroimaging analysis, showing subcortical shape measures improve diagnostic and treatment prediction compared to traditional volume features.

bioRxiv · Jul 2, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

FEMA-Long: Modeling unstructured covariances for discovery of time-dependent effects in large-scale longitudinal datasets

Pravesh Parekh, Nadine Parker, Diliana Pecheva, Evgeniia Frei, Marc Vaudel, Diana M. Y. Smith, Alison M. Rigby, Piotr Pawel Jaholkowski, Ida Elken Sønderby, Viktoria Birkenæs, Nora Refsum Bakken, Chun Chieh Fan, Carolina Makowski, Jakub Kopál, Robert J. Loughnan, , Anders Martin Dale

FEMA-Long enables efficient modeling of time-dependent effects in longitudinal data, discovering genetic variants with time-dependent effects on infant growth traits.

PLoS Genetics · Jun 11, 2026Peer-reviewedGenetics

Diffusion MRI Processing in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study: Innovations and Applications

Matthew Cieslak, Mustafa Okan Irfanoglu, Steven L. Meisler, Taylor Salo, Adam C. Raikes, Philip A. Cook, Ai Wern Chung, Erik G. Lee, Ruolin Li, Xu Li, Diliana Pecheva, Damien A. Fair, Christopher D. Smyser, Michael P. Harms, Bennett A. Landman, , Theodore Daniel Satterthwaite

The paper describes improvements in diffusion MRI processing for the HBCD study, introducing new software and observing developmental patterns in brain data.

bioRxiv · Nov 10, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

A Scalable Toolkit for Modeling 3D Surface-based Brain Geometry

Yanghee Im, Leila Nabulsi, Melody J.Y. Kang, Sophia I. Thomopoulos, Ana M. Díaz Zuluaga, Anders Martin Dale, Andriana Karuk, Annabella Di Giorgio, Benson Mwangi, Boris A. Gutman, Bronwyn J. Overs, Carlos López‐Jaramillo, Colm McDonald, Dan Joseph Stein, Dara M. Cannon, , for the ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group

The paper introduces a scalable toolkit for 3D surface-based brain analysis, demonstrating its utility in mapping subcortical shape variations across 21 international samples.

Lecture notes in computer science · Oct 4, 2025Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Age associations with cortical and subcortical brain structure in adolescents age 9-17

Diana M. Y. Smith, Alison M. Rigby, Diliana Pecheva, Pravesh Parekh, Ashley Becker, Robert J. Loughnan, Thomas E. Nichols, Terry L. Jernigan, Anders Martin Dale

The paper uses an extended mixed-effects model to analyze age-related changes in brain structure across a large adolescent cohort, finding distinct developmental patterns in cortical and subcortical regions.

bioRxiv · Sep 18, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

FEMA: Fast and efficient mixed-effects algorithm for large sample whole-brain imaging data

Pravesh Parekh, Chun Chieh Fan, Oleksandr Frei, Clare E. Palmer, Diana M. Y. Smith, Carolina Makowski, John Rehner Iversen, Diliana Pecheva, Dominic Holland, Robert J. Loughnan, Pierre Nedelec, Wesley Kurt Thompson, Donald J. Hagler, Ole A. Andreassen, Terry L. Jernigan, , Anders Martin Dale

FEMA enables fast and efficient mixed-effects analyses of large-scale whole-brain imaging data, revealing distinct spatial patterns of brain maturation in early adolescence.

Human Brain Mapping · Jan 29, 2024Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Multimodal Image Normalisation Tool (MINT) for the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study: the MINT ABCD Atlas

Diliana Pecheva, John Rehner Iversen, Clare E. Palmer, Richard Watts, Terry L. Jernigan, Donald J. Hagler, Anders Martin Dale

The paper introduces MINT, a tool for multimodal MRI registration, and presents an ABCD atlas for whole-brain analysis, showing it outperforms existing methods in speed while maintaining accuracy.

bioRxiv · Aug 9, 2022 · PreprintNeuroscience

Microstructural development from 9-14 years: evidence from the ABCD Study

Clare E. Palmer, Diliana Pecheva, John Rehner Iversen, Donald J. Hagler, Leo P. Sugrue, Pierre Nedelec, Chun Chieh Fan, Wesley Kurt Thompson, Terry L. Jernigan, Anders Martin Dale

The paper uses restriction spectrum imaging to analyze age-related microstructural changes in brain diffusion across 9-14 year olds from the ABCD Study, finding increased restricted diffusion in subcortical regions with age.

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · Dec 3, 2021Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Multivariate genome-wide association study on tissue-sensitive diffusion metrics identifies key molecular pathways for axonal growth, synaptogenesis, and astrocyte-mediated neuroinflammation

Chun Chieh Fan, Robert J. Loughnan, Carolina Makowski, Diliana Pecheva, Chi‐Hua Chen, Donald J. Hagler, Wesley Kurt Thompson, Nadine Parker, Dennis van der Meer, Oleksandr Frei, Ole A. Andreassen, Anders Martin Dale

This study uses multivariate GWAS on diffusion imaging data from two large datasets to identify 503 genetic loci affecting brain tissue composition and uncover molecular pathways related to axonal growth, synaptogenesis, and neuroinflammation.

bioRxiv · Jun 24, 2021 · PreprintGenetics

Spatially heterogeneous microstructural development within subcortical regions from 9-13 years

Clare E. Palmer, Diliana Pecheva, John Rehner Iversen, Don J. Hagler, Leo P. Sugrue, Pierre Nedelec, Chun Chieh Fan, Wesley Kurt Thompson, Terry L. Jernigan, Anders Martin Dale

The paper uses RSI to analyze diffusion patterns in subcortical regions of children aged 9-13, finding age-related changes in restricted diffusion metrics across different brain areas.

bioRxiv · Jun 4, 2021 · PreprintNeuroscience