A single-shot variable flip angle (VFA) 3D GRASE imaging protocol was proposed for mouse somatosensory spin echo fMRI. Given echo-spacing of 24ms and echo train length of 8, 3D GRASE imaging parameters such as phase-encode schedule in partition direction and variable refocusing flip angles were designed to achieve pseudo-continuous signal modulation and effective TE of 40ms. BOLD fMRI experiments were performed using 9.4T MRI with ketamine anesthetized mice. For eight slice acquisition of electrical forepaw simulation fMRI, the proposed single-shot VFA 3D GRASE protocol achieved higher tSNR, t-values and larger activation areas than conventional 2D SE-EPI.
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