T2- Prepared Blood-Oxygenation-Level-Dependent (BOLD) fMRI Using Single-Shot 3D Fast Gradient Echo (GRE) Sequence with Whole Brain Coverage at 7T

Jun Hua¹, ², Craig K. Jones¹, ², Qin Qin¹, ², Peter C.M. van Zijl¹, ²

We introduce a new acquisition scheme for T2-weighted BOLD fMRI. It employs a T2-preparation module to generate the BOLD contrast, followed by a single-shot 3D fast gradient echo readout. We implemented it on 7T human scanners with whole brain coverage (2.5mm voxel, 55 slices). In fMRI experiments of simultaneous visual and sensory stimulation, this sequence showed comparable sensitivity as the conventional 2D SE-EPI, and advantages of minimal geometric distortion and signal dropouts, lower power deposition, and greater spatial coverage. This approach would be particularly useful for fMRI studies that require whole brain coverage, or focus on regions near air cavities.