Abstract #4553

A pneumatic tactile stimulus to explore the primary somatosensory area with fMRI, at different magnetic fields

Laura Biagi^1,2, Paolo Cecchi³, Simona Fiori¹, Graziella Donatelli⁴, Andrea Guzzetta^1,5, Giovanni Cioni^1,5, Michela Tosetti^1,2, and Mirco Cosottini^2,3,4

¹IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Pisa, Italy, ²IMAGO7 Foundation, Pisa, Italy, ³3Unit of Neuroradiology, AOU Pisa, Pisa, Italy, ⁴Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, ⁵Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Difficulties to separate sensory and motor activations in fMRI studies limited the potentialities of the technique to study mechanisms of plasticity and processes of re-organization occurring in primary somatosensory area after brain lesions. Here we present the results of the use of a tactile stimulus developed ad hoc to investigate this area at different magnetic fields. The tactile stimulator is able to activate selectively a specific area in post-central region at 3T and 7T, and thanks to its safety and handiness it seems a useful tool to study (re-)organization processes in patients with brain lesion.

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