Functional MR angiography with 7.0 T Is direct observation of arterial response during neural activity possible?
We propose a new type of functional imaging in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a functional MR angiography (fMRA). As it is known, arterial responses during neural activities have been studied in animals, but little is known about the human brain in-vivo. Proposed fMRA at ultra-high field strength, 7.0 Tesla (T), has a potential for a direct visualization of vascular responses of those blood vessels related to the neural activity during the tasks, such as the hand movement or checker board stimulation, that is, fMRA. The results of this paper clearly indicate that there is the possibility that one can directly observe the vascular changes in individual blood vessels related to the tasks in human brain in-vivo, similar to fMRI.
Cho
Zang-Hee
ZH
Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Republic of Korea. zcho@gachon.ac.kr
Kang
Chang-Ki
CK
Han
Jae-Yong
JY
Kim
Sang-Hoon
SH
Park
Chan-A
CA
Kim
Kyoung-Nam
KN
Hong
Suk-Min
SM
Park
Cheol-Wan
CW
Kim
Young-Bo
YB
D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic