75 m High-Resolution Parallel Imaging GE-EPI BOLD FMRI in Rats at 11.7 Tesla: New Insights Into Cortical and Thalamic Micro-Structures

Joerg Ulrich Seehafer¹, Tom Geraedts², Mathias Hoehn¹

This fMRI study shows new insights into micro-structures of cortical columns and layers in S1 as well as detailed activation of thalamus by GE-EPI BOLD response following forepaw stimulation in rats using Parallel Imaging and high spatial resolution of 75 m x 75m x 1mm at 11.7 Tesla. Also, repetitive GE-EPI scans show continual micro-structure of activation with less susceptibility distortions and without venous vessel contribution. For the first time the activation cluster in S1 revealed areas of activation, but also areas of no activation, which give information about the actual sub-structures of cortical areas.