An MR-Compatible Haptic Device for fMRI Investigations of Force Control

An MRI compatible haptic device was built to investigate human motor control. The device allows application of force and motion in one dimension to the index finger with the thumb kept fixed. Finger position and forces applied by the subject are recorded. Initial results of an fMRI study on force control are presented. Subjects had to counter-balance externally applied force fields of different complexity. Compared to the application of a constant force varying force fields resulted in increased activation of supplementary motor area, ipsi- and contralateral primary motor cortex, and the cerebellum