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Abstract #0720

ASL PhMRI After a Single Dose of Oral Citalopram

Yufen Chen1, Hong I. Wan2, John P. O'Reardon3, Marc Korczykowski1, Ze wang1, Jiongjiong Wang1, John A. Detre1

1Center of Functional Neuroimaging, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; 2Clinical Translational Medicine, Pfizer Inc, Collegeville , PA, United States; 3Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States


Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a favorable alternative to blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD)based pharmacological MRI (phMRI) as it offers an easily interpreted, quantitative measurement of cerebral blood flow (CBF). We investigate the feasibility of ASL phMRI to detect the effects of a single orally administered dose of citaloprama commonly used antidepressantin healthy subjects. Our results reveal a significant drug-induced reduction in CBF within the amygdala. This result is in agreement with prior studies that show a correlation between amygdala function and depression, and indicates that ASL phMRI is a valuable tool for clinical trials.