Abstract #2120

Papadakis N, Mayhew J, Overton P, Berwick J, Devonshire I

fMRI of the anaesthetised rat was performed using a small, open-access volume coil and multi-slice asymmetric spin-echo EPI, in response to electrical stimulation of the rats whiskers. Robust microvascular BOLD and CBV responses were observed in the two extreme stations of the whisker to barrel pathway (cortex and brainstem); the thalamic nuclei were detected inconsistently, possibly due to their small spatial extent. This method will enable future investigations into the relationship between neural and haemodynamic responses in different regions of the brain, information that is essential in order to provide a more accurate understanding and interpretation of fMRI data.