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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Functional Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy at 7 T in the Rat Barrel Cortex During Whisker Activation
Published on: February 8, 2019
[Manganese enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for tracing corticospinal tracts in rat brain using 7.0 T MRI]
Ge-Jun Gao1, Song Wen, Tao Yang
1Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China. gaogejun@tom.com
Objective:
To investigate the methods of manganese enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in 7.0 T magnetic field for tracing corticospinal tract in rat brain in vivo.
Methods:
0.4 microl volume of 1 mol/L aqueous solution of MnCl(2) was injected into the primary motor cortex of 9 SD rats under stereotaxis. MRI studies were performed for tracing corticospinal tract and other coherent nerve tracts before injection and 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 7 days after injection respectively using 7.0T Micro-MRI.
Results:
Corticospinal tract was visualized perfectly from primary motor cortex, thalamus, cerebral peduncle to pons at different time points after Mn(2+) administration, and the best contrast was achieved after 24-48 h. At the same time, a small quantity of Mn(2+) reached the opposite somatosensory cortex through the corpus callosum.
Conclusion:
Manganese enhanced MRI visualizes perfectly the transport of Mn(2+) through axoplasmic flow in corticospinal tracts. This method may be used to investigate the change of corticospinal tract and the functional connectivity between two sides of hemisphere in rat brain.
