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Abstract #2367

Characterization of the Human Habenula In-Vivo & Ex-Vivo at 7T

Barbara Strotmann1, Marcel Weiss1, Carsten Kgler1, Andreas Schfer1, Robert Trampel1, Stefan Geyer1, Arno Villringer1, Robert Turner1

1Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany


The habenula has an important controlling role within the reward system. Overactivation is associated with depression. The habenula is positioned next to the third ventricle and is 5-9 mm in diameter. Therefore, we made use of a high field strength of 7T to obtain high resolution and high contrast T1, T2* und proton density maps to visualize habenula in-vivo and ex-vivo: human habenula shows up equally clearly in T1 and T2* maps, thus likely to be characterized by a high concentration of both myelin and iron. We found structural subdivisions ex-vivo: lateral and medial habenula, with their commissure.

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