Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most commonly used tools in neuroscience. However, it implies exposure to high noise levels. Exposure to noise can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss, especially when the exposure is long and/or repeated. Little is known about the hearing risks for people undergoing several MRI examinations, especially in the context of longitudinal studies. The goal of this study was to assess the potential impact of repeated exposure to MRI noise on hearing in research participants undergoing dozens of MRI scans. As part of the Courtois NeuroMod project, six participants were scanned up to twice a week with the use of hearing protection. Their hearing was tested periodically, over a period of 1.5 years. First, baseline pure-tone thresholds and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) amplitudes were acquired before the beginning of this study. Hearing tests were then scheduled immediately before/immediately after a scan and with a delay of two to seven days after a scan. Pure-tone thresholds and DPOAE amplitudes showed no scanner noise impact right after the scan session when compared to the values acquired right before the scan session. Pure-tone thresholds and DPOAE amplitudes acquired in the delayed condition and compared to the baseline showed similar results. These results suggest an absence of impact from MRI noise exposure. Overall, our results show that intensive longitudinal MRI studies likely do not cause hearing damage to participants when they properly utilize adequate hearing protection.

Playing video games in a neuroimaging environment is both scientifically promising and technically challenging. Primary among these challenges is the need to use scanner-compatible devices to register player inputs, which limits the type of games that can be comfortably played in a scanner and often reduces the ecological validity of video game tasks. In this paper, we introduce an MRI- and MEG-compatible video game controller that is made exclusively of 3D-printed and commercially available parts, and we release the design files and documentations in the goal of making its production accessible to any research team with minimal engineering resources. In line with the open science philosophy, we made this work accessible under an Open Source Hardware license that aims to promote accessibility and reproducibility. Additionally, we validated the responsiveness and scanner-compatibility of our controller by comparing it to a reference, non-MRI compatible controller, and by assessing the quality of the data recorded with and without the use of the said controller. The analysis of response latencies showed reliable button press accuracies. A higher latency was detected on button releases, both for long and short button presses although this effect was small enough as not to affect gameplay in most situations. Analysis of subject motion during fMRI recordings of various tasks showed that the use of our controller didn’t increase the amount of motion produced. We hope that this tool will stimulate further neuroimaging studies of video games tasks by improving both their accessibility and their validity.