Effects of spatial resolution on brain tissue displacement estimates based on DENSE MRI at 7T

Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE) MRI was used to estimate pons and midbrain tissue displacement over the cardiac cycle at 2-mm, 3-mm, and 4-mm isotropic spatial resolutions in individual subjects at 7T. Displacement estimates were largest at 2-mm resolution and matched previous reports of peak brainstem displacement over the cardiac cycle. Smaller estimates at lower resolution may be due to partial volume effects from the surrounding tissue or CSF.