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Abstract #0122

Inter-Areal and Inter-Individual Variations in Diffusion-Weighted FMRI Signal

Toshihiko Aso1, Shin-ichi Urayama1, Hidenao Fukuyama1, Denis Le Bihan, 12

1Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; 2CEA NeuroSpin, Gif-sur-yvette, France


Neuronal activation can be detected with heavily sensitized diffusion-fMRI (DfMRI). The striking temporal precedence of the diffusion response to BOLD in the visual cortex suggests a non-vascular source. A visual working memory task was implemented to investigate DfMRI responses outside visual cortex. We found very similar response patterns between well separated cortices showing temporal precedence over BOLD, while large individual variations were observed with BOLD responses. Discrepancies between DfMRI and BOLD responses were also observed, such as negative BOLD signals accompanying positive DfMRI responses supporting the assumption that the DfMRI and BOLD responses have different origins.