Is it mandatory to do distortion correction in fMRI preprocessing?

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Hi everyone,

I was wondering if it is necessary/mandatory to do distortion correction as a step in fMRI preprocessing? I got confused because I’ve seen papers both with and without this step in the preprocessing pipeline. (I am processing images acquired from a 7T scanner if that is relevant.)
In addition, after looking into the guides I found that I might be missing the field map / reverse phase encoding image that is needed for SDC, so I was also wondering if there is any remedy to this if the step is necessary.

Thank you very much for your help in advance!
Xinyu

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Hi,

It’s not mandatory, but it improves the alignment of your BOLD image with your T1. If you do not have a fieldmap, you can try using the SYN fieldmapless approach in fMRIPrep.

Best,
Steven

1 Like
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I see. Thank you very much!