Robust detection of ocular dominance columns in humans using Hahn Spin Echo BOLD functional MRI at 7 Tesla.

ABSTRACT: Cells in the mammalian brain tend to be grouped together according to their afferent and efferent connectivity, as well as their physiological properties. The columnar structures of neocortex are prominent examples of such modular organization, and have been studied extensively in anatomical and physiological experiments in rats, cats and monkeys. The importance of noninvasive study of such structures, in particular in human subjects, cannot be overemphasized. Not surprisingly, therefore, many attempts were made to map cortical columns using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Yet, the robustness, repeatability, and generality of the hitherto used fMRI methodologies have been a subject of intensive debate. Using differential mapping in a high magnetic field magnet (7 T), we demon

SUBMITTER: Yacoub E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2040323 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature