The high spin magnetization at 7T provides better MRI and fMRI than at lower field strengths. The goal of in-vivo Brodmann mapping of anatomically distinct regions of grey matter, on the basis of MRI-visible myeloarchitecture, now appears to be at least partly feasible, which enables precise association of function with neuronal substrate. With appropriate MRI methods, cortical layering due to the myelinated bands of Baillarger has been observed in several regions, such as primary visual cortex V1, and the visual motion area V5.

A study of normally sighted and congenitally blind volunteer subjects reveals that the myelinated layer structure of V1, the Stria of Gennari, remains unaltered in blindness, showing that this structure is independent of visual input for development in childhood or maintenance in adulthood.

At 7T, 350 micron resolution in-vivo images of human hippocampus allow unwrapping of its folded structure. The basal ganglia are visualized with unprecedented clarity, and their magnetic susceptibility can be mapped, indicating iron content. MRI of the corpus callosum also shows unexpected fine-scale structure.

Novel fMRI methods enable an isotropic EPI resolution of 0.65 mm with enough SNR to measure localized BOLD signal changes. Good diffusion-weighted images with isotropic 1 mm resolution can also be obtained, showing grey matter anisotropy.

We perform comparisons of cortical structure visualized with microscopy of stained cadaver brain sections, ex-vivo MRI and in-vivo MRI. Examples will be shown of the S1/M1 border, and a complete automated parcellation of primary visual cortex.