Overactive bladder affects a significant portion of women in the US (~15%). Women with this syndrome experience a frequent pathologic desire to urinate with a profound impact on their quality of life and productivity. It is unclear how cerebral perfusion changes as the bladder fills. In this study eight healthy female participants were imaged with a double-echo EPI sequence for simultaneous ASL and BOLD acquisition. Bladder filling by urethral catheter was used to assess the brain’s response at filling volumes of 0, 50, 100, 200, 350 and 500mL. Increased blood flow was observed at low urgency compared to baseline while decreased blood flow was observed at high urgency compared to low urgency.
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