3-DIMENSIONAL FUNCTIONAL IMAGING OF HUMAN BRAIN USING ECHO-SHIFTED FLASH MRI

A 3-dimensional MRI method has been developed for functional mapping o f the human brain, based on brood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) c ontrast mechanisms. The method uses recently introduced principles of echo-shifted FLASH to acquire a single 3D data set in 20 s. The techni que was tested on a conventional 1.5 Tesla clinical scanner with a sta ndard head coil using visual stimulation with a 8 Hz flashing white li ght, or a varying checkerboard pattern. Areas of increased signal inte nsity were identified in the visual cortex, consistent with the known functional organization.