Motivation: Currently fMRI focuses on either brain or spinal cord but rarely both. This is due to the demand of homogenous magnetic field over a large FOV. A comprehensive evaluation of central nervous system from distant sites would be crucial in many disorders that encompass both the brain and the spinal cord. Goal(s): To robustly detect fMRI responses simultaneously in rat brain and lumbar spinal cord. Approach: We utilized zero echo time MB-SWIFT fMRI sequence with dual-FOV approach. Results: We detected robust activations during hind limb stimulation in relevant areas of brain and spinal cord at individual and group level. Impact: The dual-FOV zero echo time sequence enables more comprehensive evaluation of central nervous system function and reorganization in different diseases or disorders such as pain and spinal cord injury.
Laakso et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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