Toward proton MR spectroscopic imaging of stimulated brain function

With the objective of complementing local cerebral metabolic studies of positron emission tomography (PET), and as a prelude to spectroscopic imaging, the author has performed a localized proton spectroscopic study of the stimulated human auditory cortex. Water suppressed localized spectroscopy was performed on a 1.5 T Philips Gyroscan MRI/MRS system and spectra were acquired during simulation with a 1-kHz tone presented at 2 Hz. Measurements were conducted for 30-40 min with a temporal resolution of 3.2 min. Results from six subjects show a lactate peak which increased during stimulation compared to baseline values. These results suggest an increase in anaerobic glycolysis during stimulation