Su Xu1, 2, Yadong Ji3, Xi Chen4, Yihong Yang4, Rao Gullapalli1, 2, Radi Masri3
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; 2Core for Translational Research in Imaging @ Maryland, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; 3Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry, University of Maryland Dental School; 4Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH
In Vivo localized high resolution 1H MRS was performed in multiple regions of the rat brain without use of anesthetic or paralytic agents in head restrained rats using a Bruker 7 T MR system. From a MR spectrum of a voxel (27 32.4 μl) in the unanesthetized rat brain, eight to ten metabolites or combinations were reliably detected and quantified in the anterior cingulate cortex, somatosensory cortex, hippocampus and thalamus without any post processing correction scheme. The current development in technique offers a novel way to study major brain metabolites without the confounds of anesthesia or paralytic agents in rodents.