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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
10:05
A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity
Published on: May 7, 2017
Intracortically distributed neurovascular coupling relationships within and between human somatosensory cortices
O J Arthurs1, T Donovan, D J Spiegelhalter
1Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ, UK. fMRI@owenarthurs.co.uk
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|May 2, 2006
Summary
Human brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Physiology
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Neurovascular coupling, the link between brain activity and blood flow, is crucial for brain function.
- While linearity has been shown in animals, human evidence is limited.
- Understanding this relationship is key to interpreting brain imaging data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the linearity and complexity of neurovascular coupling in humans.
- To compare scalp evoked potentials with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals.
- To analyze the covariation between neuronal activity and hemodynamic responses.
Main Methods:
- Healthy volunteers received somatosensory stimulation of varying intensity.
- Scalp evoked potentials and fMRI BOLD signals were recorded simultaneously.
- fMRI data was weighted by evoked potential amplitude to assess covariation and linearity.
Main Results:
- Primary somatosensory cortex showed positive, predominantly linear covariation with neuronal activity.
- Other cortical areas exhibited negative, linear covariation with neuronal activity.
- Complex, concurrent, and bilateral cortical dynamics were observed.
Conclusions:
- Human neurovascular coupling is more complex than previously thought.
- The findings reveal intricate patterns of both positive and negative BOLD signal changes.
- This has significant implications for understanding brain physiology and interpreting fMRI studies.
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