Asynchronous Finger Tapping/Flashing Checker Board

PI Name: Scott K. Holland,Ph.D

Email: Scott.Holland@cchmc.org

Areas: V1, V2, V3 visual areas in Occipital Cortex, specifically cuneus, precueus and fusiform gyri. In addition primary sensory motor areas along the central sulcus are activated during the finger tapping exercise.

Program: MacStim

Durations: ??????

Special Equipment: MRI compatible video system (goggles preferred)

Description: The paradigm consists of interleaved bilateral finger tapping and visual stimulation with different periodicity and duration. Finger tapping will occur at a rate of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off for the 5 minute and 30 second experiment. This is a conventional block-periodic paradigm. Visual stimulation will be done during the same fMRI experiment using a block periodic visual stimulation consisting of an 8 Hz alternating radial checkerboard for 20 seconds off and 20 seconds on. This will result in stimuli which drift in time relative to one another (i.e. are not phase locked) and which activate different brain regions (M1 for motor and V1 for visual, as well as other associated areas). This asynchronous block periodic motor/visual paradigm will run for 6 minutes as shown in the timing diagram below.