title: Development of a novel FMRI compatible visual perception prototype battery to test older people with and without dementia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Visuoperceptual deficits in dementia are common and can reduce quality of life. Testing of visuoperceptual function is often confounded by impairments in other cognitive domains and motor dysfunction. We aimed to develop, pilot, and test a novel visuocognitive prototype test battery which addressed these issues, suitable for both clinical and functional imaging use.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 23 participants (14 with dementia, 6 of whom had extrapyramidal motor features, and 9 age-matched controls). The novel Newcastle visual perception prototype battery (NEVIP-B-Prototype) included angle, color, face, motion and form perception tasks, and an adapted response system. It allows for individualized task difficulties. Participants were tested outside and inside the 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analyzed using SPM8.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All participants successfully completed the task inside and outside the scanner. Functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis showed activation regions corresponding well to the regional specializations of the visual association cortex. In both groups, there was significant activity in the ventral occipital-temporal region in the face and color tasks, whereas the motion task activated the V5 region. In the control group, the angle task activated the occipitoparietal cortex. Patients and controls showed similar levels of activation, except on the angle task for which occipitoparietal activation was lower in patients than controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Distinct visuoperceptual functions can be tested in patients with dementia and extrapyramidal motor features when tests use individualized thresholds, adapted tasks, and specialized response systems.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cellular Medicine, Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. josh.wood@ncl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Joshua S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Firbank
authors.forename: Urs P
authors.initials: UP
authors.lastname: Mosimann
authors.forename: John-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*