A new tablet for writing and drawing during functional MRI

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of writing and drawing are limited.
• Existing methods lack adequate behavioral feedback and logging within MRI scanners.
• A need exists for fMRI-compatible tools to study complex cognitive tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an fMRI-compatible touchscreen tablet for behavioral research.
• To investigate the neural correlates of the Trail Making Test using the new tablet.
• To explore the tablet's potential for diverse cognitive assessments during fMRI.

Main Methods:

• Development of a touchscreen tablet designed for fMRI environments.
• Confirmation of the tablet's fMRI compatibility.
• Preliminary fMRI experiments using the Trail Making Test with two subjects.

Main Results:

• The developed tablet is accurate, reliable, inexpensive, and fMRI compatible.
• fMRI data revealed left hemisphere frontal lobe activations during the Trail Making Test.
• Individual differences in neural activity were observed, primarily in the right hemisphere.

Conclusions:

• The fMRI-compatible tablet is a valuable tool for adapting pen-and-paper neuropsychological tests.
• The tablet facilitates longitudinal, within-subjects studies of neurological conditions or therapeutic interventions.
• The device enables novel fMRI research on tasks requiring continuous or complex responses.