Development of a method to present wide-view visual stimuli in MRI for peripheral visual studies

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging
• Visual Science

Background:

• Functional MRI (fMRI) studies often face limitations in presenting wide visual fields.
• Existing systems may not adequately cover peripheral visual information crucial for understanding brain function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel wide-view visual presentation system for fMRI.
• To assess the system's compatibility with the MRI environment and its effectiveness in mapping visual cortex responses.

Main Methods:

• A hemispheric translucent screen was used inside the MRI bore, back-projecting images onto a spherical screen.
• Subjects used specialized contact lenses to achieve a 120° field of view.
• Signal-to-noise ratio experiments validated image quality; system applied to retinotopic mapping and object perception tasks.

Main Results:

• The system demonstrated compatibility with the MRI environment and high image quality.
• Effective mapping of checkerboard stimuli in visual areas V1-V3 across central and peripheral fields.
• Successfully identified category-selective areas (FFA, OFA, PPA, TOS, LOC, pFs) with eccentricity-dependent response trends.

Conclusions:

• A simple and effective wide-view visual stimulus system for fMRI was developed.
• The system enhances the study of peripheral vision and its neural correlates.
• Applicable to diverse fMRI research involving visual perception and mapping.