Community-recommended practices for collecting physiological data in functional MRI: The “Physiopy” approach

The practice of combining neuroimaging data with concurrent physiological data is crucial for interpreting neuroimaging results, yet it is often overlooked. The barriers to collecting and using physiological data often stem from the cost and complexity of the extra equipment needed and, more importantly, from the lack of expertise and knowledge required to collect, assess, analyze, and integrate such data. Consequently, the use of physiological data is still uncommon outside of a few specialized groups or centers. To improve the uptake of concurrent physiological and neuroimaging data collection practice, as well as the quality and consistency of physiological recordings collected within neuroimaging settings, the Physiopy community is compiling and maintaining a live, open-access, collaborative set of community practices describing physiological data acquisition, its processing, and its usage in neuroimaging. We present here the methods used to compile this resource, as well as its aims and its future development.