Premium
Novel MRI‐compatible tactile stimulator for cortical mapping of foot sole pressure stimuli with fMRI
Author(s) -
Hao Ying,
Manor Brad,
Liu Jing,
Zhang Kai,
Chai Yufeng,
Lipsitz Lewis,
Peng ChungKang,
Novak Vera,
Wang Xiaoying,
Zhang Jue,
Fang Jing
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.24330
Subject(s) - somatosensory system , neuroscience , functional magnetic resonance imaging , motor cortex , psychology , sensory stimulation therapy , stimulation
Foot sole somatosensory feedback is critical to motor control and declines with aging and disease. To enable study of cortical networks underlying foot sole somatosensation, we developed a pneumatic tactile stimulator capable of producing one degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) oscillations with preset waveform, frequency (≤10 Hz), force magnitude (5–500 N), duty cycle (20–100%), and contacted surface area over which pressures are applied to the foot sole. Image tests (anatomical/functional/field map) of a phantom demonstrated that the device is compatible with 3 T MRI. Gradient‐recalled echo‐planar images of seven healthy young adults using a typical block‐designed 1 Hz sinusoidal stimulation protocol revealed significant activation contralaterally within the primary somatosensory cortex and paracentral gyrus, and bilaterally within the secondary somatosensory cortex. The stimulation system may therefore serve as a research tool to study functional brain networks involved in the perception and modulation of foot sole somatosensation and its relationship to motor control. Magn Reson Med 69:1194–1199, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.