Spatial variability and reproducibility of GABA-edited MEGA-LASER 3D-MRSI in the brain at 3T

The reproducibility of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) quantification results, obtained with MRSI, was determined on a 3T MR scanner in healthy adults. In this study, a spiral-encoded, GABA-edited, MEGA-LASER MRSI sequence with real-time motion-scanner-instability corrections was applied for robust 3D mapping of neurotransmitters in the brain. In particular, the GABA(+) (i.e. GABA plus macromolecule contamination) and Glx (i.e. glutamate plus glutamine contamination) signal was measured. This sequence enables 3D-MRSI with about 3cm(3) nominal resolution in about 20min. Since reliable quantification of GABA is challenging, the spatial distribution of the inter-subject and intra-subject variability of GABA(+) and Glx levels was studied via test-retest assessment in 14 healthy volunteers (seven men-seven women). For both inter-subject and intra-subject repeated measurement sessions a low coefficient of variation (CV) and a high intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were found for GABA(+) and Glx ratios across all evaluated voxels (intra-/inter-subject: GABA(+) ratios, CV similar to 8%-ICC>0.75; Glx ratios, CV similar to 6%-ICC>0.70). The same was found in selected brain regions for Glx ratios versus GABA(+) ratios (CV varied from about 5% versus about 8% in occipital and parietal regions, to about 8% versus about 10% in the frontal area, thalamus, and basal ganglia). These results provide evidence that 3D mapping of GABA(+) and Glx using the described methodology provides high reproducibility for application in clinical and neuroscientific studies.