Specificity & Stability of BOLD & CBV-Based Mapping Signals for High Resolution Functional Mapping at Sub-Millimeter Resolution

Feng Wang^1,2, Li Min Chen^1,2, Malcolm J. Avison^1,2

We have compared the sensitivity, spatial specificity and stability across imaging sessions, of gradient (GE) and spin echo (SE) BOLD and GE-CBV contrast for ultra-high spatial resolution mapping of cortical activation associated with subtle physiological somatosensory stimulation of individual finger tips in a non-human primate model at high field. SE- and CBV-based mapping yielded similar more focal patterns of signal change, but the CBV response had significantly greater contrast than both GE- and SE-BOLD.