Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mapping of Brain Function: Human Visual Cortex

Belliveau JW, Kwong KK, Kennedy DN, Baker JR, Stern CE, Benson R, Chesler DA, Weisskoff RM, Cohen MS, Tootell RBH, Fox PT, Brady TJ, Rosen BR. Magnetic resonance imaging mapping of brain function: human visual cortex. Invest Radiol 1992;27:S59-S65. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of human brain activity are described. Task-induced changes in brain cognitive state were measured using high-speed MRI techniques sensitive to changes in cerebral blood volume (CBV), blood flow (CBF), and blood oxygenation. These techniques were used to generate the first functional MRI maps of human task activation, by using a visual stimulus paradigm. The methodology of MRI brain mapping and results from the investigation of the functional organization and frequency response of human primary visual cortex (V1) are presented.