Lay Summary Principal Investigators: Gamlin, Twieg Proposal Number: IBN-l 9634422 Recent developments in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allow researchers to investigate the functional activation of the brain that is associated with particular sensory, cognitive, and motor functions. To date, most of these functional MRI (fMRI) studies have been conducted at relatively low magnetic field strengths, but we can achieve higher resolutions using higher field strengths. Also, although a number of studies have investigated functional activation of the brain by various visual stimuli and during certain eye movements, few of these studies have attempted to confirm fixation accuracy or eye movement performance. This is a shortcoming of these studies, because if one is unsure that the subject is maintaining fixation or looking at the required target, it is hard to interpret the results of the experiment. Furthermore, in earlier studies, the optical systems did not permit the eyes to view high-resolution images. One aim of the research funded by this proposal is to establish a collaboration to solve technical problems that must be remedied to further understanding of how the human visual and eye movement systems operate. More specifically the aim is to develop and build a high-resolution optical and eye-tracking system to be used in a high-field MRI system. It is expected that the system developed through funding of this grant will be invaluable to all eye movement and vision-related fMRI studies, and will result in significant advances in our understanding of the workings of the human brain.
