Regional variation in the linear relationship between breath-hold cerebrovascular reactivity and BOLD fMRI activation

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and task-based BOLD fMRI signals are closely linked. Understanding whether the relationship between CVR and task-based BOLD responses varies across the brain is important for interpreting BOLD, particularly in studies of aging where both CVR and BOLD activation differences are observed. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate the linear relationship between breath-hold (BH) CVR and task-based BOLD across the cerebral cortex to different cognitive tasks. Significant linear relationships were observed in posterior regions independent of task, while anterior regions were task-specific. These findings might contribute to understanding age-related posterior-anterior BOLD activation differences commonly observed in fMRI studies.