Abstract #3318

Improved Detection of Subcortical Resting State Networks in Functional MRI Using Multi-Echo Simultaneous Multi-Slice Acquisition

Valur Olafsson¹, Prantik Kundu², Chi Wah Wong¹, Jia Guo³, Peter A. Bandettini⁴,⁵, Eric Wong¹, Thomas Liu¹

¹Center for Functional MRI, UCSD, La Jolla, CA, United States; ²Section on Functional Imaging Methods, NIMH, Bethesda, MD, United States; ³Center for Functional MRI, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; ⁴Section on Functional Imaging Methods, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; ⁵Functional MRI Facility, NIMH, Bethesda, MD, United States

Resting-state functional connectivity of human subcortical structures is of a particular interest due to its role in common cognitive functions. In this study we investigated the detection performance of subcortical resting-state functional connectivity networks, when using a multi-echo simultaneous multi-slice (MESMS) acquisition to increase the number of volumes collected per scan time, as compared to a multi-echo single slice acquisition. Our results showed that higher acquisition efficiency provided by MESMS provided an increase in the robust detection of subcortical networks.