A nonferrous instrumental joystick device for recording behavioral responses during magnetic resonance imaging and...

A nonferrous joystick device was developed to permit subjects to continuously report ethanol-induced alterations in subjective mood states while undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) procedure. The device utilizes air pressure (supplied by a small compressor) that is directed to a series of tubes that terminate in a hand-held unit. The hand-held unit easily fits inside the magnet and resembles a standard computer game joystick except that the ends of the air hoses replace the buttons. The control unit contains three pressure transducers, which are triggered when the tubes are occluded by the subject, activating different pens on an event marker located 6 m from the whole body imager. The unit is safe to use inside a 1.5-Tesla magnetic field and does not disrupt the MRI and MRS recording procedures. Subjective reports of ethanol-induced euphoria and intoxication paralleled the MRS detection of ethanol in the brain. This device could prove to be useful in numerous behavioral studies involving whole-body MRI and MRS.