The BOLD signal is sensitive to cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood volume (CBV) and oxygen extraction. In the anesthetized monkey, we observe a vasodilatory ceiling effect during inhalation of 6% CO2 where CBF or CBV are not further increased by visual stimulation. In contrast, simultaneously measured local field potential responds to the stimulation as strong as during normocapnia. As a consequence, the stimulus-induced fMRI response during 6% hypercapnia has been found to be negative reflecting only the oxygen extraction from the blood. With this method, oxygen extraction can be imaged by means of fMRI without injection of an exogenous drug.