Breakfast & Science Seminar 56

Abstract

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides a unique window into brain metabolism in vivo. While functional MR spectroscopy (fMRS) approaches have existed for some time and have demonstrated that metabolite levels can change with brain activity, most work has focused on relatively basic physiological or sensory processes. Recent developments in acquisition, experimental design, and analysis now make it increasingly feasible to investigate higher-level cognitive functions using spectroscopic methods.
In this talk, I will discuss recent efforts to advance functional metabolic neuroimaging toward the study of cognition. Using paradigms probing brain function from relatively simple sensory processing (e.g., visual stimulation) to more complex cognitive processes such as processing speed, these studies explore how metabolic dynamics relate to neural activity. The work spans multiple nuclei (including 1H and 31P spectroscopy) and different spatial approaches, ranging from single-voxel functional MR spectroscopy (fMRS) to MR spectroscopic imaging (fMRSI).
Together, these developments illustrate how fMRS and fMRSI are evolving from tools primarily used to probe basic brain physiology toward methods capable of addressing cognitive neuroscience questions and, ultimately, clinically relevant brain function.