title: Multiresolution data acquisition and detection in functional MRI.
abstract: In an investigation of a multiresolution and multistaged approach in functional MRI, the relationship between spatial resolution and detection of functional activation is examined. The difference between functional detection and mapping is defined, and a multiresolution approach to functional detection is analyzed by constructing simple theoretical and experimental models simulating variations of in-plane resolution. Experimentally measured blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes as well as BOLD contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) with respect to different spatial resolutions are compared with results from theoretical predictions and simulation. From both an experimental and a theoretical perspective, it is shown that BOLD CNR and, thus, the concomitant detection of the functional activation are maximized when the resolution matches the size of activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Guttmann
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Panych
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D016477:Artifacts; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D016011:Normal Distribution; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology