Abstract #0321

Influence of Regional Macromolecule Baseline on the Quantification of Neurochemical Profile in Rat Brain

Lijing Xin¹, Vladimir Mlynrik¹, Hongxia Lei², Rolf Gruetter,¹²

¹Laboratory of Functional and Metabolic Imaging (LIFMET), Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ²Department of Radiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

The aim of present study was to measure the macromolecule baselines from four different volumes of interest including cortex, hippocampus, striatum and a mixture of brain structures, and then to assess their influence on the quantification of metabolites. Minor differences were found between the macromolecules acquired from specific regions and a large volume containing various cerebral structures. A slight variability in the shape of the macromolecule baseline introduced by data processing can affect calculated concentrations of less well characterized metabolites. The use of a generic experimental macromolecule baseline provides a sufficiently accurate measurement of the neurochemical profile in rat brain.