Pediatric brain imaging holds significant promise for understanding neurodevelopment. However, the requirement to remain still inside a noisy, enclosed scanner remains a challenge. Verbal or visual descriptions of the process, and/or practice in MRI simulators are the norm in preparing children. Yet, the factors predictive of successfully obtaining neuroimaging data remain unclear. We examined data from 250 children (6–12 years, 197 males) with autism and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Children completed systematic MRI simulator training aimed to habituate to the scanner environment and minimize head motion. An MRI session comprised multiple structural, resting-state, task and diffusion scans. Of the 201 children passing simulator training and attempting scanning, nearly all (94%) successfully completed the first structural scan in the sequence, and 88% also completed the following functional scan. The number of successful scans decreased as the sequence progressed. Multivariate analyses revealed that age was the strongest predictor of successful scans in the session, with younger children having lower success rates. After age, sensorimotor atypicalities contributed most to prediction. Results provide insights on factors to consider in designing pediatric brain imaging protocols.

儿科脑成像对理解神经发育具有重要意义。然而，在嘈杂、封闭的扫描仪中保持静止的要求仍然是一个挑战。过程的口头或视觉描述，和/或 MRI 模拟器中的练习是准备儿童的规范。然而，成功获得神经影像学数据的预测因素仍不清楚。我们检查了 250 名患有自闭症和/或注意力缺陷/多动障碍的儿童（6-12 岁，197 名男性）的数据。孩子们完成了系统的 MRI 模拟器培训，旨在适应扫描仪环境并尽量减少头部运动。MRI 会话包括多个结构、静息状态、任务和扩散扫描。在通过模拟器训练并尝试扫描的 201 名儿童中，几乎所有人 (94%) 都成功完成了序列中的第一个结构扫描，88% 还完成了随后的功能扫描。成功扫描的次数随着序列的进行而减少。多变量分析显示，年龄是会话中成功扫描的最强预测因素，年幼的儿童成功率较低。年龄过后，感觉运动异常对预测的贡献最大。结果提供了有关在设计儿科脑成像方案时要考虑的因素的见解。感觉运动异常对预测的贡献最大。结果提供了有关在设计儿科脑成像方案时要考虑的因素的见解。感觉运动异常对预测的贡献最大。结果提供了有关在设计儿科脑成像方案时要考虑的因素的见解。