Lying in a 3T MRI scanner induces neglect-like spatial attention bias

• Main Authors: Axel Lindner, Daniel Wiesen, Hans-Otto Karnath
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2021-09-01
• Series: eLife
• Subjects: vestibular; spatial attention; mri; mvs; spatial neglect; VOR
• Online Access: https://elifesciences.org/articles/71076

The static magnetic field of MRI scanners can induce a magneto-hydrodynamic stimulation of the vestibular organ (MVS). In common fMRI settings, this MVS effect leads to a vestibular ocular reflex (VOR). We asked whether – beyond inducing a VOR – putting a healthy subject in a 3T MRI scanner would also alter goal-directed spatial behavior, as is known from other types of vestibular stimulation. We investigated 17 healthy volunteers, all of which exhibited a rightward VOR inside the MRI-scanner as compared to outside-MRI conditions. More importantly, when probing the distribution of overt spatial attention inside the MRI using a visual search task, subjects scanned a region of space that was significantly shifted toward the right. An additional estimate of subjective straight-ahead orientation likewise exhibited a rightward shift. Hence, putting subjects in a 3T MRI-scanner elicits MVS-induced horizontal biases of spatial orienting and exploration, which closely mimic that of stroke patients with spatial neglect.