Abstract #1043

Ultra-high field fMRI characterisation of cortical depth dependent BOLD responses in the primary visual cortex in neonates

Antonia Massmann^1,2, Elisabeth Pickles^3,4, Philippa Bridgen^3,4, Pierluigi Di Cio^3,4, Lucy Billimoria^3,4, Ines Tomazinho^1,4, Cidalia Da Costa^1,4, Dario Gallo^1,4, A. David Edwards^1,2,4, Jo V. Hajnal^1,5, Shaihan Malik^1,5, Tomoki Arichi^1,2,3, and Jucha Willers Moore¹

¹Early Life Imaging Research Department, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ²MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ³London Collaborative Ultra high field System (LoCUS), King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁴Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom, ⁵Imaging Physics and Engineering Research Department, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

Synopsis

Keywords: Neuro, Pediatric, Normal Development, High‐Field MRI, Task/Intervention Based fMRI

Motivation: Despite the visual system's importance across life, development is slow in early infancy. The increased sensitivity and spatial specificity of ultra-high field fMRI provide new insights into this critical developmental phase.

Goal(s): To characterise BOLD responses in the neonatal primary visual cortex.

Approach: Cortical responses to an 8Hz flicker stimulus visual stimuli were characterized at 7T in a term-aged neonate and 4 adults using high resolution GRE-BOLD fMRI.

Results: A robust positive BOLD response in V1 was observed in both the neonate and adults. However, the induced functional responses show distinct temporal differences with slower and longer responses in neonates compared to adults.

Impact: We demonstrated the first robust positive BOLD response at 7T in the neonatal visual system comparable to adults. Characterising the differences in depth-dependent activation gives us an insight into the developing neurobiology of the visual system.

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