A rapid fMRI task battery for mapping of visual, motor, cognitive, and emotional function

A set of sensory, motor, cognitive, and emotional tasks were combined in a simple, rapid-presentation task battery and tested on a group of 31, normal, healthy subjects aged 22 to 76. Five tasks were selected on the basis of widespread use in fMRI and their ability to produce robust and reliable regional activations. They were (1) a visual task designed to activate the occipital cortex; (2) a bimanual motor task designed to activate motor areas; (3) a verb generation task designed to activate speech processing areas; (4) an n-back task designed to activate areas associated with working memory and executive function; and (5) an emotional pictures task designed to provoke strong emotional responses that typically activate limbic structures. Most of the tasks produced reliable activations in individual subjects, and assessments of the distribution and reliability of individual subject activations in each targeted area are provided. The emotional pictures task did not demonstrate adequate sensitivity in a priori target regions, only in the a posteriori defined inferior temporal region. Age- and gender-specific differences were found in the activation patterns for both the cognitive and emotional tasks. The battery provides a prescribed means for researchers to obtain reliable functional localizers within 20-25 min of scanning, which can be used to support more elaborate mapping studies of brain function. The dataset can also serve as a reliability metric for new fMRI laboratories and novice investigators seeking to test their acquisition and analysis techniques with minimal time investment and expense.