Celeritas series five button fiber optic button response system

Six 30-second blocks of right-handed tapping, paced (1 Hz) by auditory cues, were alternated with six 30-second blocks of passive visual fixation (crosshair). Each tapping sequence began with the right thumb, progressed in order to the little finger, and then reversed back to the thumb. Participants were instructed in the tapping sequence immediately prior to scanning to avoid learning effects. Stimuli were controlled and tapping performance recorded using E-Prime and a Celeritas Series five-button Fiber Optic Button Response System (Psychology Software Tools, Sharpsburg, PA). Task performance was also monitored visually via a window in the MRI control room and by simultaneous electromyography (EMG) recordings during fMRI scanning using a BIOPAC EMG Amplifier and AcqKnowledge software (BIOPAC Systems, Inc., Goleta, CA, USA). A pair of small, adhesive, MRI-compatible EMG electrodes were placed over the right first dorsal interosseous muscle and a reference ground electrode was placed over a bony protuberance at either the wrist or elbow. The EMG signal data was monitored in real time and also reviewed post-hoc to ensure participant compliance with the tapping task.

Six 30-second blocks of right handed tapping, paced (1 Hz) by auditory cues, were alternated with six 30-second blocks of passive visual fixation (crosshair). Each tapping sequence began with the right thumb, progressed in order to the little finger, and then reversed back to the thumb. Stimuli were controlled and tapping performance recorded using E-Prime and a Celeritas Series five-button Fiber Optic Button Response System (Psychology Software Tools, Sharpsburg, PA). PD patients performed the same task OFF and ON.
Participants’ task performance was monitored visually via a window in the MRI control room and by simultaneous electromyography (EMG) recordings during fMRI scanning using a BIOPAC EMG Amplifier and AcqKnowledge software (BIOPAC Systems, Inc., Goleta, CA, USA). A pair of small adhesive, MRI-compatible EMG electrodes were placed over the left and right first dorsal interosseous muscle and a reference ground electrode was placed over a bony protuberance at either the wrist or elbow. The EMG signal data was monitored in real time and also reviewed post-hoc to ensure participant compliance with the tapping task. One PIGD patient was excluded from the analysis due to movement detected in the left hand during the right hand tapping task, reducing the PIGD sample to 13.