Estimation of metabolic changes during neuronal activation represents a challenge for in vivo MRS, particularly in the case of lactate, whose dissociation from other resonances is not straightforward. To reliably quantify lactate, the lipid and macromolecular signals were significantly reduced by using a long TE (144 ms) and the remaining macromolecular signals in the vicinity of the lactate peak were individually fitted with lorentzian peaks. Statistically significant changes in lactate and glutamate levels during 15 min of visual stimulation were detected in the visual cortex, unveiling a distinctive metabolic response pattern, which can provide further insight into brain activation mechanisms.
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