Sensory and optogenetically driven single-vessel fMRI.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensitivity approaches vessel specificity. We developed a single-vessel functional MRI (fMRI) method to image the contribution of vascular components to blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) fMRI signal. We mapped individual vessels penetrating the rat somatosensory cortex with 100-ms temporal resolution by MRI with sensory or optogenetic stimulation. The BOLD signal originated primarily from venules, and the CBV signal from arterioles. The single-vessel fMRI method and its combination with optogenetics provide a platform for mapping the hemodynamic signal through the neurovascular network with specificity at the level of individual arterioles and venules.