Advanced multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) imaging approaches for studying brain metabolism, neuroenergetics, and function

Brain energy metabolism relies predominantly on glucose and oxygen metabolism to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a high-energy phosphate compound. ATP is essential for maintaining basal electrophysiological activity in the resting brain, as well as supporting increased neuronal activity evoked by stimulation and/or task performance. Investigating the complex bioenergetic processes in the human brain has required the development of sophisticated neuroimaging techniques capable of noninvasively and quantitatively measuring the cerebral metabolic rates of glucose and oxygen consumption and ATP turnover, as well as the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide redox state. It has been demonstrated that in vivo multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and imaging techniques have such ability, especially when performed at ultrahigh magnetic fields (7 T and higher). This chapter provides a brief review of recent advancements in in vivo MRS techniques, in the quest of understanding neuroenergetics and function in preclinical animal and human brains.