In vivo 13C MRS of distinct brain region in the mouse brain: how small can we go?

Motivation: Dynamic 13C MRS is a powerful tool for the investigation of brain metabolism in vivo. Due to its low SNR, it is typically constrained to big voxel sizes covering almost the whole brain in mice. Thus, making region specific research questions difficult. Goal(s): Investigating the feasibility of acquiring 13C spectra from a distinct brain region (bilateral hippocampi) in the mouse brain at 9.4T. Approach: We applied a combination of polarization transfer, a CryoProbe, frequency correction and ‘SVD denoising’ for the acquisition of 13C spectra. Results: We achieved sufficient spectral quality to quantify even small metabolite pools like GABA in the bilateral hippocampus. Impact: 13C MRS of distinct brain regions in the mouse brain paves the way for more specific research questions.