Simultaneous fMRI and eye gaze recordings during prolonged natural stimulation - a studyforrest extension

Abstract

Here we present an update of the studyforrest (http://studyforrest.org) dataset that complements the previously released functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data for natural language processing with a new two-hour 3 Tesla fMRI acquisition while 15 of the original participants were shown an audio-visual version of the stimulus motion picture. We demonstrate with two validation analyses that these new data support modeling specific properties of the complex natural stimulus, as well as a substantial withinsubject BOLD response congruency in brain areas related to the processing of auditory inputs, speech, and narrative when compared to the existing fMRI data for audio-only stimulation. In addition, we provide participants' eye gaze location as recorded simultaneously with fMRI, and an additional sample of 15 control participants whose eye gaze trajectories for the entire movie were recorded in a lab setting -to enable studies on attentional processes and comparative investigations on the potential impact of the stimulation setting on these processes.

A studyforrest extension, retinotopic mapping and localization of higher visual areas

“…However, despite providing three hours of functional imaging data per participant, experimental paradigms exclusively involved auditory stimulation, thereby representing a substantial limitation regarding the aim to aid the study of real-life cognition—which normally involves multi-sensory input. With this further extension of the dataset presented here and in a companion publication 7 , we are now substantially expanding the scope of research topics that can be addressed with this resource into the domain of vision and multi-sensory research.…”

“…Philips’ ‘SmartExam’ was used to automatically position slices in AC-PC orientation such that the topmost slice was located at the superior edge of the brain. This automatic slice positioning procedure was identical to the one used for scans reported in the companion article 7 and yielded a congruent geometry across all paradigms. Comprehensive meta data on acquisition parameters are available in the data release.…”

“…A third stimulation paradigm was implemented to collect BOLD fMRI data for an independent localization of voxels that show a response to basic visual stimulation in areas of the visual field covered by the movie stimulus used in the companion article 7 . The stimulus was highly similar to the one used for the retinotopic mapping, but instead of isolated rings and wedges, the dynamic stimulus covered either the full rectangle of the movie frame (without the horizontal bars at the top and bottom) or just the horizontal bars.…”

“…While the companion publication 7 describes an audio-visual movie dataset with simultaneously acquired fMRI, cardiac/respiratory traces, and eye gaze trajectories, the present article focuses on data records and exams related to a basic characterization of the functional architecture of the visual processing stream of all participants—namely retinotopic organization and the localization of particular higher-level visual areas. The intended purpose of these data is to perform brain area segmentation or annotation using common paradigms and procedures in order to study the functional properties of areas derived from these standard definitions in situations of real-life like complexity.…”

Lies, irony, and contradiction — an annotation of semantic conflict in the movie "Forrest Gump"

“…In this study we explored occurrences of semantic conflict in the core stimulus of the studyforrest project ( http://studyforrest.org) — the motion picture “Forrest Gump” — in order to evaluate whether the available brain imaging data 3, 4 can be readily used to study this aspect of cognition. We annotated the presence of contradictory statements, including lies and ironic statements, as well as the portrayal of cues, such as exaggeration or raised eyebrows, that are often associated with making ironic statements.…”