Development of Layer Specific FMRI for Clinical Scanners

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Summary Layer Specific FMRI is a new and exciting tool to probe mesoscale brain networks non-invasively, without the need for invasive surgical procedures, such as electrode implantation, or confocal microscopy. Recent work has demonstrated the Layer Specific FMRI can identify both the columnar, as well as layer specific structure of a network. While the field of Layer Specific FMRI is dominated by “ultra-high” field MRI scanners (7T and above), it is still extremely challenging to achieve those results in 3T scanners because of their reduced signal:noise ratio (SNR). The need for ultra-high field scanners stems from the requirement of extremely small voxels for layer specific FMRI, which translates into a dramatic loss of SNR. This need for ultra high field scanners means that much of it has to be carried out on small animals, and human work in this area is limited to a few select institutions. The goal of this proposal is to develop the technology needed to make layer specific FMRI feasible at 3T scanners, common in most research institutions. Our proposed strategy is to improve SNR efficiency and reduce scan time by using a reduced field of view, 3D read-out in tandem with a new positive vascular contrast imaging method based on Velocity Selective pulses to collect arterial blood volume weighted images much faster. At the same time, we will also aim to reduce the noise of the measurement by an efficient echo correction technique.