Stimulus Delivery and Response Hardware for fMRI Studies in Substance Abuse

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Addiction is a critical issue for our society and involves complex brain processes in which sensory stimulation and interaction with the environment are key factors for its understanding and treatment. This project proposes to develop a comprehensive family of hardware products for evoking intense sensory and experiential interaction during brain imaging studies. In particular the project will assess how the quality of the sensory experience and interaction affects brain pathways involved in craving and addiction. Specialized stimulation and control hardware will be engineered and used in fMRI studies to evaluate the added benefit of the technology. The effort involves integrating advanced technology for stimulus presentation, leading edge immersive VR technology, and fMRI based brain imaging. It will provide a comprehensive family of hardware products that can be used together or independently during fMRI studies and potentially during the course of drug abuse treatment efforts. The proposed fMRI peripheral hardware includes: 1) a stereo projector system to increase the sense of immersion; 2) an integrated dataglove with force and tactile feedback enabling grasping studies with virtual objects; 3) an odor delivery system capable of presenting multiple odors to a subject; 4) a taste delivery system capable of providing multiple tastes directly to the tongue; 5) an auditory stimulus delivery system with active noise cancellation to dramatically attenuate scanner noise; 6) a gamepad controller with joystick and buttons enabling control movement and responses during VR studies inside or outside of an MRI scanner. In addition to preliminary testing with subjects during fMRI studies of all the hardware to substantiate its effects, a comparative fMRI study with smokers will test the ability of the hardware to deliver sensory augmented VR simulations that are an improvement over the more traditional use of static images in craving studies. The business and marketing plan are conservative and based on the successful model Psychology Software Tools Inc (PST) has used in past niche market product development and marketing. The staff includes leaders in computerized experimentation, brain imaging and fMRI addiction research who have a history of working with university researchers to provide market leading technology in experimental control (E- Prime is used by over 10,000 researchers) and functional imaging systems (IFIS is installed at over 200 MRI sites). The business plan builds on the past track record that has resulted in every SBIR phase II research program being transitioned into a market leading technology with over three million dollars of commercial sales within five years. Future research by many investigators would utilize the developed technology to advance understanding of brain processes involving addiction and cognition and provide a profitable income stream to continue innovation in the growing research interface of brain, cognition and addiction. This project will conduct the scientific research and development necessary to provide a comprehensive family of hardware products for effectively and reliably evoking intense sensory and experimental interaction during fMRI brain imaging. Future scientific research efforts made possible or furthered by the availability of these tools will advance the understanding of the brain processes related to addictive behavior and cognition. This understanding will be used to assess and treat key societal substance abuse problems which have become a plague upon the health of our nation, affecting millions of individuals and defying current solutions.