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fMRI of the auditory cortex in patients with unilateral carotid artery steno‐occlusive disease
Author(s) -
Bilecen Deniz,
Radü Ernst Wilhelm,
Schulte AnjaCarina,
Hennig Jürgen,
Scheffler Klaus,
Seifritz Erich
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.10117
Subject(s) - medicine , auditory cortex , cortex (anatomy) , functional magnetic resonance imaging , stenosis , magnetic resonance imaging , cardiology , internal carotid artery , radiology , audiology , neuroscience , psychology
Abstract Purpose To examine whether an internal carotid artery (ICA) steno‐occlusive disease leads to a reduced blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD)‐signal change due to a decreased vasodilatory reserve capacity. Materials and Methods Patients suffering from unilateral ICA stenosis or occlusion were examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the auditory cortex with a bilateral stimulation applying a pulsed 1000 Hz sine‐tone. Results Compared to control subjects, who showed symmetric bilateral BOLD‐responses within the auditory cortex, the ICA patients revealed either a normal bilateral cortical activation pattern or a reduced cortical activation on the steno‐occluded side. This latter decrease of BOLD‐signal change might indicate a depressed vasomotor reserve capacity. The observed coincidence between this asymmetric reduction in BOLD‐signal and ischemic borderzone lesions on the affected side in this subgroup of patients strongly supports this assumption. Conclusion This study shows that fMRI of the auditory cortex appears to have clinical merit in the workup of cerebrovascular conditions. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;15:621–627. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.