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Abstract

Introduction: Non-invasive functional neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have become indispensable tools for the neurosciences. The underlying principle of the most frequently used methods is the brain’s local, dynamic regulation of blood flow. The correct interpretation of the neuroimaging results requires an in-depth understanding of the structural and functional neurovascular coupling underlying this regulation. The structural coupling, among others, presumes a close mach between the vascular density and the steady-state metabolic activity of a given region (e.g. a tangential or laminar subdivision). Here we studied the layer and area specificity of vascularization of V1, V2, V3, V4 and V5 in macaques.