JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments
Neuroscience
0 views • 1:21 min • May 29th, 2025
Position a human participant’s head within the head coil of a functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, system.
Employ vascular space occupancy or VASO, a technique to measure changes in cerebral blood volume, or CBV, the blood volume within the brain.
Begin by applying an inversion recovery pulse to suppress signals from blood, allowing only signals from the surrounding tissue within the region to be detected.
Next, use MRI-compatible earbuds to deliver auditory stimuli.
The stimuli reach the auditory cortex, the brain region responsible for processing auditory information, and stimulate the neurons.
The stimulated neurons increase their metabolic oxygen demand, prompting an influx of oxygenated blood and increasing blood volume.
The rise in CBV dilates the blood vessels, occupying a greater proportion of the region and reducing the relative contribution of tissue signals.
Detect the decrease in tissue signals, which reflects increased neuronal activity in the stimulated auditory cortex.