Region-Aware Reconstruction Strategy for Pre-training fMRI Foundation Model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a region-aware masking strategy for pretraining fMRI models, which improves classification accuracy and interpretability by selectively masking brain regions based on anatomical labels.

Contribution

It proposes an ROI-guided masking approach using the AAL3 atlas for self-supervised pretraining of fMRI models, moving beyond random masking methods.

Findings

Achieved 4.23% higher accuracy in ADHD classification.

Region-aware masking enhances model interpretability.

Brain regions like limbic and cerebellum are key for reconstruction.

Abstract

The emergence of foundation models in neuroimaging is driven by the increasing availability of large-scale and heterogeneous brain imaging datasets. Recent advances in self-supervised learning, particularly reconstruction-based objectives, have demonstrated strong potential for pretraining models that generalize effectively across diverse downstream functional MRI (fMRI) tasks. In this study, we explore region-aware reconstruction strategies for a foundation model in resting-state fMRI, moving beyond approaches that rely on random region masking. Specifically, we introduce an ROI-guided masking strategy using the Automated Anatomical Labelling Atlas (AAL3), applied directly to full 4D fMRI volumes to selectively mask semantically coherent brain regions during self-supervised pretraining. Using the ADHD-200 dataset comprising 973 subjects with resting-state fMRI scans, we show that our method achieves a 4.23% improvement in classification accuracy for distinguishing healthy controls from individuals diagnosed with ADHD, compared to conventional random masking. Region-level attribution analysis reveals that brain volumes within the limbic region and cerebellum contribute most significantly to reconstruction fidelity and model representation. Our results demonstrate that masking anatomical regions during model pretraining not only enhances interpretability but also yields more robust and discriminative representations. In future work, we plan to extend this approach by evaluating it on additional neuroimaging datasets, and developing new loss functions explicitly derived from region-aware reconstruction objectives. These directions aim to further improve the robustness and interpretability of foundation models for functional neuroimaging.