• search hit 1 of 1
Back to Result List

Increase in glutamate/glutamine concentration in the medial prefrontal cortex during mental imagery: A combined functional mrs and fMRI study

  • Recent functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) studies have shown changes in glutamate/glutamine (Glx) concentrations between resting-state and active-task conditions. However, the types of task used have been limited to sensory paradigms, and the regions from which Glx concentrations have been measured limited to sensory ones. This leaves open the question as to whether the same effect can be seen in higher-order brain regions during cognitive tasks. Cortical midline structures, especially the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), have been suggested to be involved in various such cognitive tasks. We, therefore set out to use fMRS to investigate the dynamics of Glx concentrations in the MPFC between resting-state and mental imagery task conditions. The auditory cortex was used as a control region. In addition, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to explore task-related neural activity changes. The mental imagery task consisted of imagining swimming and was applied to a large sample of healthy participants (n=46). TheRecent functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) studies have shown changes in glutamate/glutamine (Glx) concentrations between resting-state and active-task conditions. However, the types of task used have been limited to sensory paradigms, and the regions from which Glx concentrations have been measured limited to sensory ones. This leaves open the question as to whether the same effect can be seen in higher-order brain regions during cognitive tasks. Cortical midline structures, especially the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), have been suggested to be involved in various such cognitive tasks. We, therefore set out to use fMRS to investigate the dynamics of Glx concentrations in the MPFC between resting-state and mental imagery task conditions. The auditory cortex was used as a control region. In addition, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to explore task-related neural activity changes. The mental imagery task consisted of imagining swimming and was applied to a large sample of healthy participants (n=46). The participants were all competitive swimmers, ensuring proficiency in mental-swimming. Glx concentrations in the MPFC increased during the imagery task, as compared to resting-state periods preceding and following the task. These increases mirror BOLD activity changes in the same region during the task. No changes in either Glx concentrations or BOLD activity were seen in the auditory cortex. These findings contribute to our understanding of the biochemical basis of generating or manipulating mental representations and the MPFC's role in this. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3204-3212, 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.show moreshow less

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author details:Zirui Huang, Henry (Hap) Davis Iv, Qiang Yue, Christine Wiebking, Niall W. Duncan, Jianfeng Zhang, Nils-Frederic Wagner, Annemarie Wolff, Georg Northoff
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22841
ISSN:1065-9471
ISSN:1097-0193
Pubmed ID:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26059006
Title of parent work (English):Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell
Place of publishing:Hoboken
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2015
Publication year:2015
Release date:2017/03/27
Tag:functional magnetic resonance imaging; glutamate; glutamine; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; medial prefrontal cortex; mental imagery
Volume:36
Issue:8
Number of pages:9
First page:3204
Last Page:3212
Funding institution:Swim Canada; CIHR; HDRF-ISAN; EJLB-CIHR
Organizational units:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Sport- und Gesundheitswissenschaften
Peer review:Referiert
Institution name at the time of the publication:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Sportwissenschaft
Accept ✔
This website uses technically necessary session cookies. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this. You can find our privacy policy here.