Fast spectroscopic imaging strategies for potential applications in fMRI

Mulkern, Robert V.; Chen, Nan-kuei; Oshio, Koichi; Panych, Lawrence P.; Rybicki, Frank J.; Gambarota, Giulio

doi:10.1016/j.mri.2004.10.011

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Volume 22, Issue 10 , Pages 1395-1405, December 2004

Fast spectroscopic imaging strategies for potential applications in fMRI

Robert V. Mulkern
- Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 02115 Boston, MA, USA.
Nan-kuei Chen
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Koichi Oshio
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Lawrence P. Panych
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Frank J. Rybicki
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Giulio Gambarota
- Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Received 8 October 2004; accepted 8 October 2004.

Abstract

Technical aspects of two general fast spectroscopic imaging (SI) strategies, one based on gradient echo trains and the other on spin echo trains, are reviewed within the context of potential applications in the field of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fast spectroscopic imaging of water may prove useful for identifying mechanisms underlying the blood oxygenation level dependence (BOLD) of the water signal during brain activation studies. Reasonably rapid mapping of changes in proton signals from brain metabolites, like lactate, creatine or even neurotransmitter associated metabolites like GABA, is substantially more challenging but technically feasible particularly as higher field strengths become available. Fast spectroscopic methods directed towards the ³¹P signals from phosphocreatine (PCr) and adenosine tri-phosphates (ATP) are also technically feasible and may prove useful for studying cerebral energetics within fMRI contexts.

Keywords: Fast spectroscopic imaging, Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Functional MR, fMRI, Brain metabolites, T2*, Lactate, Phosphorus, ATP