Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) of the Deep Brain Structures at 7.0T

Ravi Prakash Reddy Nanga¹, David R. Roalf², Kejia Cai¹, Mark Elliott¹, Hari Hariharan¹, James Loughead², Harish Poptani¹, Ravinder Reddy¹, Ruben C. Gur²

Ultra-high field neuroimaging provides enhanced sensitivity and spectroscopic resolution. However, the increased field strength has several limitations, especially in deep brain regions which are prone to severe field inhomogeneities. Here, we show accurate and reliable quantification of glutamate/glutamine in deep brain structures (amygdala and hippocampus) at 7.0T. Given the importance of these deep brain structures in memory, emotion and other cognitive processes, accurate quantification could provide insight into the well-documented volumetric and functional differences in a variety of neuropsychological disorders.