1. Effects of methylphenidate on functional MRI blood-oxygen-level-dependent contrast
- Author
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Stephen M. Rao, Betty Jo Salmeron, Mariellen Fischer, Elliot A. Stein, Lisa L. Conant, Sally Durgerian, Judi A. Janowiak, and Robert C. Risinger
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Hemodynamics ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Blood-oxygen-level dependent ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Methylphenidate ,Motor Cortex ,Brain ,Magnetic resonance imaging ,Middle Aged ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Functional imaging ,Oxygen ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Motor Skills ,Regional Blood Flow ,Finger tapping ,Cardiology ,Psychology ,Functional magnetic resonance imaging ,Neuroscience ,medicine.drug ,Motor cortex - Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The authors’ goal was to determine potential hemodynamic consequences of methylphenidate on functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast. METHOD: BOLD and perfusion changes were recorded from the motor cortex of six healthy subjects while they performed flexion-extension movements of the right index finger (finger tapping) at varying rates before and after oral methylphenidate administration. RESULTS: Functional MRI signals increased monotonically with faster movement rates. Subjects’ heart rates increased modestly after methylphenidate administration, but no changes in finger tapping performance or functional MRI signals were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Methylphenidate does not alter BOLD neural-hemodynamic coupling. Consequently, functional MRI can be used to map neural systems that subserve cognitive operations (e.g., attention and executive processes) in subjects taking methylphenidate.
- Published
- 2000