Detection power, temporal response, and spatial resolution of IRON fMRI in awake, behaving monkeys at 3 Tesla

The main goal of this thesis was to systematically characterize the detection sensitivity, temporal response, and spatial resolution of IRON contrast for fMRI within the awake, behaving monkey. Understanding these issues provides insights into the physiology of the functional response to local changes in brain activity, enables researchers to optimize experimental designs, and delineates the advantages and limitations of neuroimaging within this important animal model. The injection of the iron oxide contrast agent (MION) provided a 9-fold increase in efficiency for block designs relatively to BOLD contrast. Because the hemodynamic response function acts as a low-pass filter on neural activation to attenuate the size of differential responses to alternate stimuli, this factor dropped to approximately 2 for rapidly presented stimuli. Detection efficiency for event-related stimulus designs for BOLD and IRON contrasts could be optimized using random or semi-random distributions for interstimulus intervals. Small increases in predictability could be traded for large gains in efficiency, particularly for the IRON method. A general linear model was successfully employed to describe IRON and BOLD impulse response functions. Both responses were accurately described by a bimodal exponential model with similar time constants, a fast (4.5 sec) and a slow (13.5 sec).

Department dc:contributor.department

Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Leite, Francisca Maria Pais Horta

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Joseph B. Mandeville.

• Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/38593
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/38593

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38593