Object: The authors sought to evaluate the advantages and limitations of functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging when it was used regularly in the clinical context to identify the central sulcus.
Methods: A 1.5-tesla MR system comprising a spoiled gradient recalled acquisition in the steady-state functional sequence and a cross-hand cancellation analysis method were used to evaluate 50 surgical candidates with centrally located space-occupying lesions in the brain. Three-dimensional (3-D) models of the patient's head and brain showing the relative position of the tumor and the eloquent cortex were obtained in each case. A selective and reproducible focal activation was found, indicating the probable central sulcus position in 41 patients (82%). Direct cortical stimulation confirmed the fMR findings in 100% of 22 intraoperatively assessed patients. Failure to identify the central sulcus occurred in 18% of cases and was mainly a consequence of intrinsic damage in the primary sensorimotor region that resulted in severe hand paresis.
Conclusions: Although specific factors were identified that contributed to reduced sensitivity of fMR imaging in the clinical context, the present study supports functional assessment and 3-D representation of specific surgical situations as generally feasible in common practice.