Regional impairment of cerebrovascular reactivity and BOLD signal in adults after stroke.

Background And Purpose: Comparative studies across populations using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) rely on a similar relationship between blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal and neural activity. However, in elderly and patients with cerebrovascular disease, impaired cerebrovascular dynamics and neurovascular coupling may explain differences in BOLD contrast across populations and brain regions. The purpose of the study was to determine whether poststroke patients have regional heterogeneities of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and their potential influence on voxel-wise motor-related BOLD signal.