Comparison of inversion recovery asymmetrical spin‐echo EPI and gradient‐echo EPI for brain motor activation study

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Abstract
An inversion recovery asymmetric spin‐echo (IR‐ASE) echo‐planar imaging (EPI) sequence has been developed for functional studies of the brain. This technique uses an 180° inversion pulse with a long inversion time (TI) to suppress the pulsatile cerebrospinal fluid and an asymmetric spin‐echo readout to obtain activation signals from brain capillaries. Because gradient‐echo sequences are most sensitive to large vessels, motor cortex activation studies using a gradient‐echo technique also were conducted for comparison with the IR‐ASE method. The results suggest that the IR‐ASE pulse sequence may be a useful complement to the gradient‐echo technique for the study of neuronal activity of the human brain.