Research utilizing awake rodents has been conducted for the past 10-15 years, however limitations still exist surrounding this technique. Our goal is to build a restraining/RF coil system that circumvents some of the shortcomings present in existing systems, while allowing for the delivery of various stimuli during preclinical neuroimaging. The proposed design (i.e. TriCoil) has integrated access ports for binocular visual stimulation, gustatory and olfactory stimuli presentation, as well as intranasal delivery. SNR obtained with the TriCoil was superior to a volumetric RF coil for awake rat imaging, while a CO2 challenge yielded significant brain-wide BOLD changes.
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