We describe the fabrication and performance of a chronic in situ coil system designed to allow focal brain stimulation in awake rats while acquiring highly resolved MRI data. We developed a subcutaneously implantable receive-only surface radiofrequency coil to be fitted immediately adjacent to the rat skull surface during the cannulation procedure. SNR performance of the coil was superior to three commercially-available coils, in some instances by a factor of three. Widespread BOLD was observed in response to bicuculline and morphine microinfusions. This approach enables mapping the functional response to highly targeted stimuli such as microinfusions or optogenetics.
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