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Resting-State Versus Breath-Hold For Testing Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Integrity In Pre-Surgical Planning, Nooshin Jafari Fesharaki

Theses and Dissertations

The neuro-vascular coupling mechanism responsible for blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals can be focally disrupted by various pathological factors (such as brain tumors) while leaving the underlying neurons functionally intact. Such neuro-vascular uncoupling (NVU) can pose serious complications for clinical use of fMRI. Mapping of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), which is a measure of the dilatory function of cerebral vasculature, can be a useful approach for detecting potential NVU. The widely-accepted approach for non-invasive CVR mapping requires the patient to perform a breath-hold challenge, which may have practical disadvantages for many patient populations. Thus, a …