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PreprintCC BY-NC-NDbioRxiv

Widely Used Calculations of Intracranial Volume Provide Inaccurate Estimates in Developmental Cohorts: Evidence and Solutions for the Neuroimaging Community

  • A. M. Skyberg
  • A. J. Reck
  • J. Smith
  • B. T. Newman
  • M. N. Goldberg
  • T. J. Druzgal
  • J. D. Van Horn
  • J. H. Pfeifer1
  1. 1University of Oregon
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Abstract

Intracranial volume (ICV) is often estimated as part of automated neuroimaging processing pipelines and commonly used to account for and characterize cranial size. FreeSurfer's estimated intracranial volume (eTIV) produces implausible longitudinal estimates in developmental samples when using versions prior to FreeSurfer 8. Across two different adolescent datasets, we document eTIV changes of up to 39% between 1.5 - 2 year sessions for FreeSurfer 7, with errors more pronounced on Siemens scanners and in female participants. These errors are markedly reduced in FreeSurfer 8 and AssemblyNet. However, the widespread use of FreeSurfer 7 raises concern about developmental neuroimaging studies that utilize eTIV without quality control.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{skyberg2026widely,
  title = {{Widely Used Calculations of Intracranial Volume Provide Inaccurate Estimates in Developmental Cohorts: Evidence and Solutions for the Neuroimaging Community}},
  author = {A. M. Skyberg and A. J. Reck and J. Smith and B. T. Newman and M. N. Goldberg and T. J. Druzgal and J. D. Van Horn and J. H. Pfeifer},
  howpublished = {bioRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.10.03.751882},
  url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.03.751882v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Widely Used Calculations of Intracranial Volume Provide Inaccurate Estimates in Developmental Cohorts: Evidence and Solutions for the Neuroimaging Community
AU  - A. M. Skyberg
AU  - A. J. Reck
AU  - J. Smith
AU  - B. T. Newman
AU  - M. N. Goldberg
AU  - T. J. Druzgal
AU  - J. D. Van Horn
AU  - J. H. Pfeifer
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/03
PB  - bioRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.10.03.751882
UR  - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.03.751882v1
AB  - Intracranial volume (ICV) is often estimated as part of automated neuroimaging processing pipelines and commonly used to account for and characterize cranial size. FreeSurfer's estimated intracranial volume (eTIV) produces implausible longitudinal estimates in developmental samples when using versions prior to FreeSurfer 8. Across two different adolescent datasets, we document eTIV changes of up to 39% between 1.5 - 2 year sessions for FreeSurfer 7, with errors more pronounced on Siemens scanners and in female participants. These errors are markedly reduced in FreeSurfer 8 and AssemblyNet. However, the widespread use of FreeSurfer 7 raises concern about developmental neuroimaging studies that utilize eTIV without quality control.
ER  -