Abstract #2115

Detection of fast responses in diffusion fMRI of the human visual cortex through reduced vascular contamination

Shota Hodono^1,2, Jonathan R Polimeni^3,4, and Martijn A Cloos^1,2

¹Centre for Advanced Imaging,The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ²ARC Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging Technology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ³Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, ⁴Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States

Synopsis

A key feature of the diffusion-weighted fMRI (DfMRI) response is that it can detect activation with an earlier onset compared to the hemodynamic response measured with spin-echo Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (SE-BOLD), which was taken as evidence that the DfMRI signal can track an aspect of neural activation that is distinct from hemodynamics. However, despite considerable efforts, it has been challenging to detect this early onset reliably. Here we revisit this question leveraging modern fMRI hardware and acquisition approaches to reduce unwanted hemodynamic contributions. Averaged across all subjects, we see a 1.6±0.2s earlier onset compared to SE-BOLD.

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