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Abstract #1228

BOLD PhMRI in the Rat on a Clinical 3T Scanner Using Cocaine Challenge

Edwin Heijman1, Duncan Jack Hodkinson2, Roland van de Molengraaf3, Brian Henry4, Shane McKie5, Charles Sio1

1Philips Research Europe, Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 2Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 3Life Science Facilities, Philips Research, Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 4Translational Medicine Research Centre, Schering-Plough, Singapore, Singapore; 5Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom


In this study we investigated the potential applications of a clinical 3T system for pharmacological MRI (phMRI) in the rat brain. Using a human 3T MRI scanner, a dynamic SE-EPI BOLD sequence was implemented to determine alterations between pre- and post-injection of 5 mg/kg cocaine in male Sprague-Dawley rats under isoflurane anesthesia. Data analysis was performed using pseudoblock analyses. Cocaine-saline subtraction across the time series, showed significant activations in cortico-limibc areas of the motor, retrosplenial, and piriform cortex, extending to subcortical areas of the antero-dorsal hippocampus. We conclude that pre-clinical phMRI studies can be performed using 3T clinical scanners.