A new method to record and control for 2D-movement kinematics during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The recording of movement kinematics during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments is complicated due to technical constraints of the imaging environment. Nevertheless, to study the functions of brain areas related to motor control, reliable and accurate records of movement trajectories and speed profiles are needed. We present a method designed to record and characterize the kinematic properties of drawing- and handwriting-like forearm movements during fMRI studies by recording pen stroke trajectories. The recording system consists of a translucent plastic board, a plastic pen containing fiber optics and a halogen light power source, a CCD camera, a video monitor and a PC with a video grabber card. Control experiments using a commercially available digitizer tablet have demonstrated the reliability of the data recorded during fMRI. Since the movement tracking signal is purely optical, there is no interaction with the MR (echoplanar) images. Thus, the method allows to obtain movement records with high spatial and temporal resolution which are suitable for the kinematic analysis of hand movements in fMRI studies.
Hauptmann
Bjoern
B
Department of Neurobiology, Brain Research, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. bjoern.hauptmann@segebergerkliniken.de
Sosnik
Ronen
R
Smikt
Oded
O
Okon
Eli
E
Manor
David
D
Kushnir
Tammar
T
Flash
Tamar
T
Karni
Avi
A
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014741:Video Recording / Q000379:methods