Figure 3.

Spontaneous limb movements in the preterm brain are associated with functional brain activity in the peri-rolandic cortex. (a) Using a precise fiber-optic position sensor, spontaneous “active” right wrist movements during image acquisition were recorded (green blocks) and convolved with an age-specific hemodynamic response function (HRF) to model (blue trace) the acquired BOLD signal (red trace). In this example, preterm infant (32 + 3 weeks PMA), spontaneous movements of the right wrist were significantly correlated with the mean BOLD signal in the left peri-rolandic cortex (green cluster). (b) This same approach can also be used to model brain responses induced by “passive” right wrist movement (orange blocks), with the measured BOLD signal closely fitting the design model. In the same infant, this allows the identification of a localized cluster of functional activity (red–yellow) in the left peri-rolandic region.