Abstract #2004

Leveraging ASL Perfusion to Unravel Neural Activation in the Olfactory Bulb: A Proof of Concept

Sichen Ludwig Zhao¹, Manuel Taso², M Dylan Tisdall³, Jay A Gottfried^4,5, and John A Detre^3,4

¹Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc, Malvern, PA, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ⁵Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: Arterial Spin Labelling, fMRI

Motivation: The olfactory bulbs (OBs) play a key role in the detection and processing of olfactory information. However, research on human OB function has been limited due to their challenging location for conventional T₂*-weighted BOLD fMRI.

Goal(s): To explore ASL as an alternative to BOLD for OB functional MRI.

Approach: We utilized ASL with a 16-shot Stack-of-Spirals 3D TSE readout to obtain short-TE functional imaging. We quantified blood flow and subsequently assessed neural activation in the OB using a blocked design olfactory paradigm.

Results: This study quantifies OB blood flow for the first time and demonstrates neural activation in the OB during odor delivery.

Impact: This work highlights ASL's potential for fMRI, especially in challenging areas with high susceptibility and low signal-to-noise ratio, making it a viable option for studying olfactory-related regions where BOLD fMRI faces difficulties.

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