Abstract #0251

Ongur D, Evins E, Barros T, Covell J, Kaufman M, Fava M, Renshaw P, Brown J, Wang L, Prescot A

Glycine (Gly) serves as an essential coagonist for the glutamatergic N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subtype. NMDA receptor hypofunction is implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Several clinical trials have reported that dietary Gly administration has promise for reducing negative symptoms in schizophrenia. High-dose dietary Gly therapy increases serum levels in schizophrenics, although clinical responses to Gly loading are highly variable. This report describes the acquisition of TE-averaged 1H-MR spectra from two groups of healthy subjects, one participating in a test-retest variability study, and a second group who participated in a high-dose Gly-loading study, to determine whether TE-averaged 1H-MRS can detect brain Gly increases.