Methodology of MRS in Animal Models: Technical Challenges and Solutions

In vivo¹H MR spectroscopy is a unique technique, which is capable of providing neurochemical information from a selected volume of tissue noninvasively. However, the richness and reliability of neurochemical information gained by MRS depends heavily on the data acquisition and processing techniques utilized. What makes the use of MRS in neuroscience and medical research even more challenging is the fact that the most advanced MRS techniques developed in the last 15 years are not routinely provided by MR scanner vendors. This chapter provides an overview of the MRS methodology for studying animal models of human neurodegenerative diseases. The chapter’s subsections focus on MRS data acquisition, processing, and metabolite quantification. The data acquisition section outlines some basic hardware requirements, B₀ shimming, water suppression, and localization techniques. The data processing section describes methods applied on acquired MRS data before metabolite quantification, such as frequency, phase, and eddy current correction. The quantification section focuses specifically on LCModel analysis. Finally, some examples, demonstrating the potentials of high-field¹H MRS for neurochemical profiling in mice, are presented.