Abstract #2408

In Vivo Mapping of Retinal Projections in Rat, Gerbil & Mouse Brains using MEMRI

Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Joe S. Cheng^1,2, Iris Y. Zhou,², Condon Lau^1,2, Kwok Fai So^3,4, Ed X. Wu^1,2

¹Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging & Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, People's Republic of; ²Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, People's Republic of; ³Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, People's Republic of; ⁴State Key Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, People's Republic of

This study employs high-resolution 2D/3D Mn-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) to examine the retinal projections in both visual and non-visual functional nuclei after unilateral injection of MnCl2 intravitreally in three rodent species (rats, gerbils and mice). One day after intravitreal Mn2+ injection, Mn-enhancements were observed in the visual nuclei in retina, lens, optic nerve and optic chiasm of the ipsilateral brain, and the optic tract, lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus in the contralateral brain in all species. In addition, significant Mn-enhancements were observed in the non-visual nuclei in posterior medial amygdala and hippocampus in the contralateral brain in all species. The origins of these Mn-enhancement patterns were discussed.