FMRI signal source analysis using diffusion-weighted spiral-in acquisition

Despite the tremendous growth in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), susceptibility induced static field inhomogeneity at air/tissue interface have limited the study of ventral brain regions engaged in object recognition and other processes. Furthermore, the spatial extent of fMRI activations in this region may be obscured by contribution of large vessels distant from the precipitating neural events. In this report, a diffusion weighted spiral-in image acquisition was employed to recover fMRI signal in the ventral brain during object recognition with high temporal resolution, as well as to suppress large vessel contributions. The combined methodology of the ventral signal recovery and vascular signal reduction can thus be advantageous for fMRI investigations at the statically inhomogeneous areas.