Ute Goerke1,
Malgorzata Marjanska1, Manda Vollmers1, Isabelle Iltis1,
Pierre-Gilles Henry1, Kamil Ugurbil1
1Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance
Research,
For
the first time, fMRI utilizing a hyperpolarized tracer 13C-labeled
urea was performed. Since urea does not cross the blood-brain barrier, it is
an ideal marker for perfusion changes caused by neuronal activity. The
presented results were obtained in rats with forepaw stimulation. Despite the
extremely low tracer concentration in the blood in gray matter, focal
activated regions were robustly detected in all 13C fMRI
experiments.