Woan-Chyi Wang1, Yi-Ru Lin1, David M. Niddam2, 3, Shang-Yueh Tsai4, 5
1Department of Electronic Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Laboratory of Integrated Brain Research, Department of Medical Research and Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Graduate Institute of Applied Physics, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Reasearch Center for Mind, Brain and Learning, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan
Cingulate cortex (CC) is involved in many pathological conditions including psychiatric disorders and chronic pain. Quantification of Glu and Gln in CC may provide important information about pathological mechanisms and drug dynamics. We used PEPSI sequence with short-TE and TEavg protocols to detect Glu and Gln in CC. Although a better fit was obtained for Glu with TEavg there was no obvious difference in Glu COV between two protocols. In conclusion, PEPSI is suitable for assessment of short-term and long-term changes in brain metabolites. Compared to TEavg, short-TE protocol had similar performance on Glu but provides more accurate quantification of Gln and other metabolites.