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Physiological Basis of BOLD fMRI Decreases

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Neurovascular Coupling Methods

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 88))

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that positive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal changes in the cortex under normal physiological conditions are closely related to increased neuronal activity. However, the physiological basis of negative blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI signal changes in the cortex as well as in subcortical structures are less well understood. Animal models that employ combined neuroimaging and direct electrophysiological measurements provide a powerful avenue for studying the complex relationships between negative fMRI changes and neuronal activity under normal and abnormal conditions (such as epilepsy). Several animal studies have shown that fMRI decreases do not necessarily translate to decreased electrophysiological signals. Here, we review three such scenarios: (1) increased local field potentials (LFP) occur during cortical slow oscillations despite reduced mean neuronal firing, resulting in decreased BOLD, cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV); (2) massive increases in neuronal activity during hippocampal seizures exceed the ability of CBF to meet metabolic demands leading to decreased local BOLD fMRI signals; (3) reverse coupling of neuronal activity and CBF in the basal ganglia leads to increased neuronal firing and LFP during normal somatosensory stimulation and spike-wave seizures, along with a paradoxical decrease in BOLD fMRI, CBF, and CBV. A better understanding of the physiological basis underlying BOLD fMRI decreases can provide improved interpretation of fMRI data in health and disease.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH Grants R01 NS049307 (H.B.), R01 MH067528 (F.H.), P30 NS052519 (F.H.) and by the Betsy and Jonathan Blattmachr family.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Robert Kim

  2. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Fahmeed Hyder

  3. Core Center for Quantitative Neuroscience with Magnetic Resonance (QNMR), Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Fahmeed Hyder & Hal Blumenfeld

  4. Department of Neurology, Neurobiology, Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Hal Blumenfeld

Authors
  1. Robert Kim
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  2. Fahmeed Hyder
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  3. Hal Blumenfeld
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hal Blumenfeld .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Mingrui Zhao

  2. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Hongtao Ma

  3. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Theodore H. Schwartz

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Kim, R., Hyder, F., Blumenfeld, H. (2014). Physiological Basis of BOLD fMRI Decreases. In: Zhao, M., Ma, H., Schwartz, T. (eds) Neurovascular Coupling Methods. Neuromethods, vol 88. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0724-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0724-3_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0723-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0724-3

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