MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF THE NEUROTRANSMITTER GABA AND GLUTAMATE IN VIVO

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）和谷氨酸是大脑的两种主要神经递质。 它们的水平也会因中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病和几种药物而改变 作用于中枢神经系统（CNS），通过改变GABA和谷氨酸介导其作用 程度.因此，GABA和谷氨酸作为诊断、治疗和治疗的替代标志物， 疗效评价。现有的测量伽马-氨基丁酸和 人体内的谷氨酸包括正电子发射断层扫描（PET）、单光子发射 断层扫描（SPECT）和磁共振波谱（MRS）。PET的缺点和 SPECT是低分辨率和辐射暴露，这限制了功能研究的适用性。 另一方面，MRS能够在体内检测GABA和谷氨酸，但需要复杂的 光谱编辑技术，并具有有限的空间和时间分辨率。在这个项目中，我们 开发一种新的、非侵入性的、非放射性的和高分辨率的脑部成像方法 GABA和谷氨酸利用化学交换饱和转移（CEST）效应， 氨基丁酸和谷氨酸上的胺质子基团。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and Glutamate are the two major neurotransmitters of the brain. Their levels are also altered by disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) and several drugs acting on the central nervous system (CNS) mediate their effects by changing GABA and Glutamate levels. Hence, GABA and Glutamate serve as surrogate markers for diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. Existing approaches for measuring regional changes in GABA and Glutamate in humans include positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission tomography (SPECT) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). The shortcomings of PET and SPECT are low resolution and radiation exposure, which limits applicability to functional studies. MRS on the other hand is able to detect GABA and Glutamate in-vivo, but requires complicated spectral editing techniques and has limited spatial and temporal resolution. In this project, we are developing a novel, noninvasive, nonradioactive and high resolution approach for imaging brain GABA and Glutamate exploiting chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) effect from the amine proton groups on GABA and glutamate.