Charting vascular network architecture in primate brain using ferumoxytol-weighted laminar MRI

Motivation: Although the brain's vascular network plays a crucial role in supplying oxygen and glucose while removing metabolic by-products to meet the high energy demands of neural information processing, our understanding of the vascular network architecture in the primate brain remains limited. Goal(s): To address this issue, our study aims to explore the variability of the vascular network and its relationship to underlying neuroanatomy. Approach: We investigate brain vascularity in macaque monkeys using ferumoxytol-weighted laminar MRI. Results: We demonstrate that vascularity exhibits 3-fold variation across brain regions, moderate variability across cortical layers, distinct translaminar clusters, and strong association with neuron and synaptic densities. Impact: Laminar ferumoxytol-weighted MRI shows considerable potential to delineate pial vessel network, intracortical feeding arteries and draining veins and density of capillary networks. The capillary density exhibits close association with the underlying neuroanatomy.