Hibernating mammals use brown adipose tissue (BAT) as a primary source of heat production for arousal from torpor. In hibernators, both white adipose tissue (WAT) and BAT volumes increase in autumn even when temperatures are warm, unlike non-hibernators which require cold exposure for BAT growth. Differentiation of WAT from BAT between depots in close proximity can be achieved using IDEAL water-fat MRI. Hibernating mammals exposed to constant warm environments showed drastic molecular changes to their BAT depots that could ultimately be detected my MRI, proving IDEAL’s versatility and specificity.
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