J Korean Soc Magn Reson Med.  2005 Dec;9(2):134-139.

A Study of the Effect of Acoustic Noise Attenuator on Auditory Functional MRI

• Kim SH
• Kim IS
• Lee JJ
• Park JA
• Lee YJ
• Yeo JR
• Bae SJ
• Lee SH
• Chang Y

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the usefulness of acoustic noise attenuator on auditory fMRI examination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The acoustic noise attenuator consists of mask, earmuff and silicon earplug. The soft polyurethane sheet and polyurethane form , which has a good soundproof characteristic were used for mask and earmuff. Auditory fMRI experiments of 500 Hz pure tone stimulation were performed in three different cases; first all of mask, earmuff and earplug, secondly earmuff and earplug only and finally without attenuator in 4 normal hearing volunteers. For data acquisition, BOLD MR imaging technique was employed at a 1.5T MR scanner equipped with high performance gradient system. The raw data were analyzed using a SPM-99 analysis software and the activation maps were obtained. RESULTS: In case of all items of acoustic attenuator used, the results revealed that activation was focused on primary auditory area. When only earmuff and earplug were used, the results showed that the activation spread over primary auditory and secondary associative areas. Last, when no device used, only weak activation was observed on the right auditory cortex. CONCLUSION: It is expected that the acoustic noise attenuator, which consists of earplugs, earmuffs and mask, is a very useful device in auditory fMRI study.

Keyword

acoustic noise attenuator; fMRI; Brain; Auditory; Function

MeSH Terms

Acoustics*
Auditory Cortex
Brain
Ear Protective Devices
Hearing
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Masks
Noise*
Polyurethanes
Silicones
Volunteers
Polyurethanes
Silicones