Concurrent 1D line-scan fMRI at multiple cortical locations with a novel non-contiguous, non-coplanar multiline acquisition in humans at 7 Tesla

Motivation: Spin-echo-based line-scanning employing inner-volume excitation has been proposed for line-scan fMRI to avoid artifacts stemming from imperfect saturation RF pulses. Goal(s): To measure non-contiguous and non-coplanar BOLD signals at multiple cerebral cortical areas. Approach: We developed multi-line T2’- and T2-weighted Gradient-echo sampling of a spin-echo (GESSE) line-scanning fMRI method. Results: This novel approach enables the detection of fMRI activation at different visual cortical regions, showing pure T2 and TE-dependent BOLD responses. It provides a proof-of-concept to further examine interactions of high-resolution fMRI signals at multiple cortical locations along feedforward and feedback pathways. Impact: A non-coplanar multi-line gradient-echo sampling of spin-echo (GESSE) line-scanning method was proposed as a novel approach for distinguishing macro- and micro-vascular sensitive fMRI signals by simultaneouslyacquiring T2’- and T2-weighted BOLD fMRI signals at multiple cortical locations.