BOLD Signal Differences in the Somatosensory & Visual Pathways

Daniil Aksenov^1,2, Limin Li^1,2, Michael Miller^1,2, Alice Wyrwicz^1,2

In order to examine the local differences in BOLD signal, fMRI data were obtained from awake rabbits using either whisker or visual stimulation, and the BOLD responses in cortical and subcortical structures of the pathways were compared within and between each sensory system. Early results reveal striking differences in the shape of BOLD time courses in terms of adaptation (i.e., decrease to a plateau following an initial peak) between in the visual and whisker pathways. These results suggest that visual cerebral cortical versus subcortical and whisker cortical regions are characterized by different hemodynamic properties.