J Korean Soc Radiol.  2009 Nov;61(5):279-289. 10.3348/jksr.2009.61.5.279.

Using fMRI to Detect Activation of the Cortical and Subcortical Auditory Centers: Development of a Standard Protocol for a Conventional 1.5-T MRI Scanner

• Tae WS
• Kim SS
• Lee KU
• Lee SH
• Choi HK
• Nam EC

• KMID: 2026168
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jksr.2009.61.5.279

Abstract

PURPOSE
We wanted to develop a standard protocol for auditory functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for detecting blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses at the cortical and subcortical auditory centers with using a 1.5-T MRI scanner.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fourteen normal volunteers were enrolled in the study. The subjects were stimulated by four repetitions of 32 sec each with broadband white noise and silent period blocks as a run (34 echo planar images [EPIs]). Multiple regression analysis for the individual analysis and one-sample t-tests for the group analysis were applied (FDR, p<0.05).
RESULTS
The auditory cortex was activated in most of the volunteers (left 100% and right 92.9% at an uncorrected p value <0.05, and left 92.9% and right 92.9% at an uncorreced p value <0.01). The cochlear nuclei (100%, 85.7%), inferior colliculi (71.4%, 64.3%), medial geniculate bodies (64.3%, 35.7%) and superior olivary complexes (35.7%, 35.7%) showed significant BOLD responses at uncorrected p values of <0.05 and p <0.01, respectively. On the group analysis, the cortical and subcortical auditory centers showed significant BOLD responses (FDR, p <0.05), except for the superior livary complex. The signal intensity time courses of the auditory centers showed biphasic wave forms.
CONCLUSION
We successfully visualized BOLD responses at the cortical and subcortical auditory centers using appropriate sound stimuli and an image acquisition method with a 1.5-T MRI scanner.

MeSH Terms

Auditory Cortex
Auditory Pathways
Brain
Cochlear Nucleus
Echo-Planar Imaging
Geniculate Bodies
Humans
Inferior Colliculi
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Noise
Oxygen
Oxygen