Cerebral blood oxygenation in rat brain during hypoxic hypoxia. Quantitative MRI of effective transverse relaxation rates

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Abstract
Oxygenation-sensitive MRI of respiratory challenges in the brain of experimental animals will considerably benefit from a quantitative relationship between cerebral blood oxygenation and MRI parameters. Here, a multi-echo gradient-echo MRI technique was used to determine effective transverse relaxation rates R = 1/T of rat brain in vivo during short periods of hypoxia and interleaved normoxic phases. The differential contribution ΔR observed during hypoxia was found to increase linearly with arterial blood deoxygenation for mild to moderate conditions. Severe deoxygenation resulted in a plateau most likely due to enhanced cerebral blood flow.