Blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) fMRI studies at the level mesoscopic organizations, such as cortical columns and layers, is challenged by the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the specificity of different fMRI sequences even at ultrahigh magnetic fields. In this work, we show that when mapping layer-specific activities in the cat visual cortex, ultrahigh-resolution 3D GRASE sequence with inner volume selection achieved similar specificity as at 9.4 Tesla CBV-fMRI using 2D GE-EPI sequence, while attains a higher BOLD sensitivity. Our results indicate that 3D iv-GRASE BOLD is promising for laminar and columnar mapping of brain functions.
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