Abstract #0377

Restom K, Liu T, Perthen J, Bondi M, Bangen K

Quantitative perfusion based fMRI utilizing ASL techniques has the potential to be a useful tool for studying the progression of cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer's. However, due to the low inherent sensitivity of ASL, the application of this technique to the investigation of cognitive function has been limited. Here we show that ASL can be used in both young and elderly adults to obtain robust and reliable measures of functional perfusion activation in the hippocampus with a memory encoding task. This study supports the feasibility of using ASL to measure perfusion changes associated with cognitive function in older populations.