Detection of resting state correlations between white matter tracts in spinal cord using BOLD fMRI and their changes with injury

The study objective was to detect and quantify correlations between resting state BOLD signals in WM of spinal cord (SC) as potential indicator of functional connectivity, and evaluate changes that occur following injury. At first, BOLD activation was detected in response to tactile stimuli in certain WM regions in the SC of squirrel monkeys. Next, localized BOLD activity was observed during resting state in SC regions which resembled closely to WM tracts. There was a drop in resting state WM correlations after injury, followed by gradual recovery with time which mimics the pattern of SC functional recovery after an injury.