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Abstract

Functionally distinct anatomic subdivisions of the brain can often be only a few millimeters in one or more dimensions. The study of metabolic differences in such structures by means of
localized in vivo MR spectroscopy is therefore challenging, if
not impossible. In fact, the spatial resolution of chemical shift
imaging (CSI) in humans is typically in the range of centimeters.
The aim of the present study was to optimize 1 H CSI in monkeys
and demonstrate the feasibility of high spatial resolutions up to
1.4 x 2 x 1.4 mm^3. The obtained spatial resolution permitted the
segregation of gray and white matter in the visual cortex based
on the concentration of different metabolites and neurotransmitters
like N-acetylaspartate, glutamate, and creatine. Concentration
ratios of white matter versus gray matter tissue as
well as between metabolites matched those reported in the
literature from healthy human brain, demonstrating the consistency
and reliability of the procedure.