Memory‐Related Hippocampal Activity Can Be Measured Robustly Using fMRI at 7 Tesla |
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| Authors: | Nina Theysohn MD Shaozheng Qin PhD Stefan Maderwald PhD Benedikt A. Poser PhD Jens M. Theysohn MD Mark E. Ladd PhD David G. Norris PhD Elke R. Gizewski MD PhD Guillen Fernandez MD PhD Indira Tendolkar MD PhD |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University Hospital Essen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, , Essen, Germany;2. University Duisburg‐Essen, Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, , Essen, Germany;3. Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, , Nijmegen, Netherlands;4. Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, , Stanford, CA;5. University of Hawaii, Department of Medicine, Neuroscience and MR Research Program, , Honolulu, HI;6. Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Innsbruck, , Innsbruck, Austria;7. Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Cognitive neuroscience, , Nijmegen, Netherlands;8. Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Cognitive neuroscience Psychiatry, , Nijmegen, Netherlands;9. University Hospital Essen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, , Essen, Germany |
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| Abstract: | High field strength functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has developed rapidly. However, it suffers from increased artifacts in brain regions such as the medial temporal lobe (MTL), challenging functional imaging of the hippocampus with the objective of high‐spatial resolution, which is particularly useful for this region both from a clinical and cognitive neuroscience perspective. We set out to compare a BOLD sequence at 7 T versus 3 T to visualize the MTL activity during an associative memory‐encoding task. Twenty‐eight healthy volunteers underwent a blocked‐design fMRI at either 3 T or 7 T while performing a face‐profession associative memory encoding task. Qualitative analyses of overall image quality revealed that functional images at 7 T were of high quality, showing a good white/gray matter contrast, with reasonably acceptable signal dropouts and artifacts at the lower portion of the temporal lobe. Analyses of task‐related fMRI data revealed robust activations in the bilateral MTL during associative memory encoding at both field strengths. Notably, we observed significantly stronger memory‐related hippocampal activation at 7 T than at 3 T, suggesting higher BOLD sensitivity at 7 T. These results are discussed in the light of the feasibility of 7 T scanning protocols for the MTL. |
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| Keywords: | Hippocampus memory ultra‐high field strength MRI fMRI 7T |
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