Abstract
OBJECTIVE
The goal was to assess auditory cortex activation evoked by pure-tone stimulus with functional MRI.
METHODS
Five healthy children, aged 7 to 10 years, were studied. Hearing evaluation was performed by pure-tone audiometry in a sound-treated room and in the MRI scanner with the scanner noise in the background. Subjects were asked to listen to pure tones (500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz) at thresholds determined in the MRI scanner. Functional image processing was performed with a cross-correlation technique with a correlation coefficient of 0.5 (P < 0.0001). Auditory cortex activation was assessed by observing activated pixels in functional images.
RESULTS
Functional images of auditory cortex activation were obtained in 3 children. All children showed activation in Heschl's gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and planum temporale. The number of activated pixels in auditory cortexes ranged from 4 to 33.
CONCLUSIONS
Functional images of auditory cortex activation evoked by pure-tone stimuli are obtained in healthy children with the functional MRI technique.
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