Christoph Wolfgang Blau1, Karen Mary Griffin2, Oliviero Leopoldo Gobbo1, James Francis Xavier Jones2, Christian Matthias Kerskens1
1Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 2School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
We show that neuronal activation of the rat primary somatosensory cortex can be clearly visualised by fast T1-weighted gradient-echo contrast MRI in the medetomidine-sedated rat. We describe the course of the bolus through the activated region and compare it to a cortical control region. Our results show a difference in bolus dispersion between the active and control regions. The work has the potential to provide new quantitative information on the haemodynamic response due to activation.