Purpose: To describe a clinically useful application of functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging--presurgical mapping of the sensory motor cortex--and to validate the results with established physiologic techniques.
Materials and methods: Functional MR mapping of the sensory motor cortex was performed in two women, aged 24 and 38 years. Both had intractable, simple partial motor seizures due to tumors located in or near the sensory motor cortex. They subsequently underwent invasive cortical mapping--direct cortical stimulation and/or sensory-evoked-potential recording--to localize the affected sensory motor area prior to tumor resection.
Results: In both patients, the functional MR study demonstrated task activation of the sensory motor cortex. In both cases, results of cortical functional mapping with invasive techniques matched those obtained with functional MR imaging.
Conclusion: Presurgical mapping of the sensory motor cortex is a potentially useful clinical application of functional MR imaging.