Cerebellar imaging for neuroscience at 9.4 T

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cerebellar imaging for neuroscience at 9.4 T

AU - van der Zwaag, W

AU - Tse, D H Y

AU - Poser, B A

AU - Priovoulos, N

N1 - © 2025 The Author(s). Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

PY - 2025/6/28

Y1 - 2025/6/28

N2 - PURPOSE: This study explored the possibility of visualizing cerebellar structure and function in vivo with a 9.4 T protocol suitable for neuroscientific experiments.METHODS: Six healthy individuals were scanned with a 9.4 T acquisition protocol including functional runs using BOLD-weighted 3D EPI at 0.8 and 0.0 mm isotropic resolution, and a 0.4 mm MP2RAGE covering the entire cerebellum to derive cerebellar cortical surfaces.RESULTS: Scan sessions took approximately 1 h, a duration generally well tolerated in (cognitive) neuroscience experiments. A generalized B1 shim over the cerebellum provided sufficient contrast for gray-white matter segmentation and surface generation in all participants. A motor-task paradigm yielded consistent responses in both hemispheres in the posterior and anterior cerebellar lobes.CONCLUSION: These experiments show that it is feasible to undertake neuroscientific experiments in the human cerebellum using 9.4 T MRI. The increased SNR and BOLD sensitivity benefit both structural and functional acquisitions and derivatives such as cortical surfaces generated from these data.

AB - PURPOSE: This study explored the possibility of visualizing cerebellar structure and function in vivo with a 9.4 T protocol suitable for neuroscientific experiments.METHODS: Six healthy individuals were scanned with a 9.4 T acquisition protocol including functional runs using BOLD-weighted 3D EPI at 0.8 and 0.0 mm isotropic resolution, and a 0.4 mm MP2RAGE covering the entire cerebellum to derive cerebellar cortical surfaces.RESULTS: Scan sessions took approximately 1 h, a duration generally well tolerated in (cognitive) neuroscience experiments. A generalized B1 shim over the cerebellum provided sufficient contrast for gray-white matter segmentation and surface generation in all participants. A motor-task paradigm yielded consistent responses in both hemispheres in the posterior and anterior cerebellar lobes.CONCLUSION: These experiments show that it is feasible to undertake neuroscientific experiments in the human cerebellum using 9.4 T MRI. The increased SNR and BOLD sensitivity benefit both structural and functional acquisitions and derivatives such as cortical surfaces generated from these data.

U2 - 10.1002/mrm.30596

DO - 10.1002/mrm.30596

M3 - Article

C2 - 40580510

SN - 0740-3194

VL - 94

SP - 2129

EP - 2139

JO - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

ER -