Impact of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner noise on affective state and attentional performance

Abstract

Introduction: Previous research has shown that performance on cognitive tasks administered in the scanner can be altered by the scanner environment. There are no previous studies that have investigated the impact of scanner noise using a well-validated measure of affective change. The goal of this study was to determine whether performance on an affective attentional task or emotional response to the task would change in the presence of distracting acoustic noise, such as that encountered in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. Method: Thirty-four young adults with no self-reported history of neurologic disorder or mental illness completed three blocks of the affective Posner task outside of the scanner. The task was meant to induce frustration through monetary contingencies and rigged feedback. Participants completed a Self-Assessment Manikin at the end of each block to rate their mood, arousal level, and sense of dominance. During the task, half of the participants heard noise (recorded from a 4T MRI system), and half heard no noise. Results: The affective Posner task led to significant reductions in mood and increases in arousal in healthy participants. The presence of scanner noise did not impact task performance; however, individuals in the noise group did report significantly poorer mood throughout the task. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that the acoustic qualities of MRI enhance frustration effects on an affective attentional task and that scanner noise may influence mood during similar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks.

Keywords:

• Attention
• Affect
• Imaging
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• Noise

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Mental Health Institute of the National Institutes of Health [grant number P50MH077138] (principal investigator, PI: S. M. Strakowski); and the Drug Abuse Institute of the National Institutes of Health [grant number K01DA020485] (PI: J. C. Eliassen). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.