High field imaging of large-scale neurotransmitter networks: Proof of concept and initial application to epilepsy.

ABSTRACT: The brain can be considered a network, existing of multiple interconnected areas with various functions. MRI provides opportunities to map the large-scale network organization of the brain. We tap into the neurobiochemical dimension of these networks, as neuronal functioning and signal trafficking across distributed brain regions relies on the release and presence of neurotransmitters. Using high-field MR spectroscopic imaging at 7.0 T, we obtained a non-invasive snapshot of the spatial distribution of the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate, and investigated interregional associations of these neurotransmitters. We demonstrate that interregional correlations of glutamate and GABA concentrations can be conceptualized as networks. Furthermore, patients with epilepsy display an increased nu

SUBMITTER: van Veenendaal TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6051471 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature