Evaluation of auditory cortex activation by using silent FMRI.

PURPOSE To evaluate auditory cortex activation evoked by pure-tone stimulus using silent functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). MATERIAL AND METHODS Nine volunteers with normal hearing as determined with pure-tone audiometry were studied. Auditory cortex activation was evoked by pure-tone stimuli presented monaurally at 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Images of auditory cortex activation were obtained using silent and conventional FMRI techniques. Heschl's gyrus activation was evaluated by the number of voxels exceeding a predetermined significance level (P <.0001). RESULTS In both techniques, all subjects showed activation in the Heschl's gyrus. Silent FMRI detected more activation in all studied frequencies compared with the conventional FMRI. The observed difference in the Heschl's gyrus activation between the techniques reached statistical significance for 1,000 Hz frequency (P <.05). CONCLUSIONS The amount of Heschl's gyrus activation detected with silent FMRI is greater than that of conventional FMRI. Silent FMRI technique can be used to acquire functional images of the auditory cortex without the confounding effects of scanner noise.

[1]  D. C. Teas,et al.  Single unit study of binaural interaction in the auditory cortex of the chinchilla , 1976, Brain Research.

[2]  J. Binder,et al.  Functional magnetic resonance imaging of human auditory cortex , 1994, Annals of neurology.

[3]  A R Palmer,et al.  Modulation and task effects in auditory processing measured using fMRI , 2000, Human brain mapping.

[4]  Z H Cho,et al.  Analysis of acoustic noise in MRI. , 1997, Magnetic resonance imaging.

[5]  R. Bowtell,et al.  “sparse” temporal sampling in auditory fMRI , 1999, Human brain mapping.

[6]  R W Cox,et al.  Software tools for analysis and visualization of fMRI data , 1997, NMR in biomedicine.

[7]  A. Galaburda,et al.  Cytoarchitectonic organization of the human auditory cortex , 1980, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[8]  D Atkinson,et al.  Determination of gradient magnetic field‐induced acoustic noise associated with the use of echo planar and three‐dimensional, fast spin echo techniques , 1998, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[9]  K. Scheffler,et al.  Tonotopic organization of the human auditory cortex as detected by BOLD-FMRI , 1998, Hearing Research.

[10]  P. Heil,et al.  Auditory cortical onset responses revisited. II. Response strength. , 1997, Journal of neurophysiology.

[11]  E C Wong,et al.  Processing strategies for time‐course data sets in functional mri of the human brain , 1993, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[12]  T. H. Le,et al.  Functional MRI of human auditory cortex using block and event‐related designs , 2001, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[13]  E C Wong,et al.  Effect of motion outside the field of view on functional MR. , 1996, AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology.

[14]  V M Haughton,et al.  Functional MR of the primary auditory cortex: an analysis of pure tone activation and tone discrimination. , 1997, AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology.

[15]  F G Shellock,et al.  Auditory noise associated with MR procedures: a review. , 2000, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[16]  B. Biswal,et al.  Functional magnetic resonance imaging of auditory cortex in children , 1998, The Laryngoscope.

[17]  E. Veuillet,et al.  Tones disappear faster in the right ear than in the left , 2000, Perception & psychophysics.

[18]  M. Kajola,et al.  Interaural interaction in the human auditory cortex. , 1989, Audiology : official organ of the International Society of Audiology.

[19]  Functional asymmetries in the auditory system. , 1997, The Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology. Supplement.

[20]  V. Haughton,et al.  Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the central auditory pathway following speech and pure‐tone stimuli , 1995, The Laryngoscope.

[21]  R W Cox,et al.  AFNI: software for analysis and visualization of functional magnetic resonance neuroimages. , 1996, Computers and biomedical research, an international journal.

[22]  Y Yang,et al.  A silent event‐related functional MRI technique for brain activation studies without interference of scanner acoustic noise , 2000, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[23]  R. S. Hinks,et al.  Time course EPI of human brain function during task activation , 1992, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[24]  S. Posse,et al.  Intensity coding of auditory stimuli: an fMRI study , 1998, Neuropsychologia.

[25]  A R Palmer,et al.  Time‐course of the auditory BOLD response to scanner noise , 2000, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[26]  J. Gore,et al.  Measurements of the Temporal fMRI Response of the Human Auditory Cortex to Trains of Tones , 1998, NeuroImage.

[27]  S. Clarke,et al.  Cytochrome Oxidase, Acetylcholinesterase, and NADPH-Diaphorase Staining in Human Supratemporal and Insular Cortex: Evidence for Multiple Auditory Areas , 1997, NeuroImage.

[28]  B. Biswal,et al.  Assessment of auditory cortex activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging , 2000, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.