Schizophrenia (SZ) is a common, severe mental illness caused by neurobiological disturbances in glutamate and dopamine. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and can be detected using MR spectroscopy and glutamate-weighted chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST) MRI. In this study, we performed high-resolution GluCEST MRI in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) mouse model of SZ to evaluate glutamatergic alterations in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus. The GluCEST contrast was found to be lower in the hippocampus of 22q11.2DS mice compared to that in the age-matched control mice indicating the lower hippocampal glutamate level in the preclinical model of SZ.
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