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Development of a fully automated system for delivering odors in an MRI environment

Behavior Research Methods volume 42, pages 1072–1078 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

We describe the development and evaluation of a computer-controlled system for delivering odors in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. The system allows a timely presentation of different odors in synchrony with MRI sequences and participant’s inspiration phase. The rise/fall time of odor deliverance has been optimized to generate prompt and strong stimulations. Equipped with a user-friendly programming interface, the system can be used reliably in a wide range of experimental paradigms. We have paid particular attention to developing a portable system that is relatively easy, rapid, and inexpensive to replicate. The equipment has been tested in a 3-Tesla MRI in a boxcar paradigm, in which stimulation conditions alternated with rest periods (no stimulation). The experiment demonstrated the good functioning of the device and its efficiency in producing the expected activation in the olfactory cortex; it also revealed some methodological and technical aspects to be improved.

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Affiliations

  1. Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium

    Isabel Cuevas, Benoît Gérard, Paula Plaza, Elodie Lerens, Olivier Collignon, Anne G. De Volder & Laurent Renier

  2. Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc, Brussels, Belgium

    Cécile Grandin

  3. UCL-54.46, Avenue Hippocrate, 54, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium

    Anne G. De Volder

Authors
  1. Isabel Cuevas
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  2. Benoît Gérard
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  3. Paula Plaza
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  4. Elodie Lerens
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  5. Olivier Collignon
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  6. Cécile Grandin
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  7. Anne G. De Volder
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  8. Laurent Renier
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne G. De Volder.

Additional information

This study was supported by FRSM Grant 3.4502.08 (Belgium).

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Cuevas, I., Gérard, B., Plaza, P. et al. Development of a fully automated system for delivering odors in an MRI environment. Behavior Research Methods 42, 1072–1078 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.42.4.1072

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.42.4.1072

Keywords

  • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Solenoid Valve
  • Auditory Signal
  • Piriform Cortex
  • Breathing Cycle