Joanna K. Huttunen1, Antti M. Airaksinen1,
Kimmo Lehtimki2, Juha-Pekka Niskanen1,3, Juha
Yrjnheikki2, Olli Grhn1
1A. I. Virtanen Institute
for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; 2Discovery
& Imaging Services, Cerebricon Ltd / Charles River Labs, Kuopio, Finland;
3Department of Physics & Mathematics, University of Eastern
Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Detection of small pharmacological responses relies on the stability of the measured signal intensity in time. Calculation of T2 maps from two sequential images diminishes fluctuations in the signal, and therefore allows more subtle activations to be detected. Positive apomorfine responses in T2 maps were detected in the lateral entorhinal cortex with increased T2 values of 3-4 ms. Negative apomorfine responses in T2 maps were detected in the motor cortices with decreased T2 values of 1-2 ms. The T2 map method in pharmacological studies could be beneficial in studying new pharmacological agents with small or unknown responses in the brain.
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