Big GABA: Edited MR spectroscopy at 24 research sites

TitleBig GABA: Edited MR spectroscopy at 24 research sites
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsMikkelsen M, Barker PB, Bhattacharyya PK, Brix MK, Buur PF, Cecil KM, Chan KL, Chen DY-T, Craven AR, Cuypers K, Dacko M, Duncan NW, Dydak U, Edmondson DA, Ende G, Ersland L, Gao F, Greenhouse I, Harris AD, He N, Heba S, Hoggard N, Hsu T-W, Jansen JFA, Kangarlu A, Lange T, R Lebel M, Li Y, Lin C-YE, Liou J-K, Lirng J-F, Liu F, Ma R, Maes C, Moreno-Ortega M, Murray SO, Noah S, Noeske R, Noseworthy MD, Oeltzschner G, Prisciandaro JJ, Puts NAJ, Roberts TPL, Sack M, Sailasuta N, Saleh MG, Schallmo M-P, Simard N, Swinnen SP, Tegenthoff M, Truong P, Wang G, Wilkinson ID, Wittsack H-J, Xu H, Yan F, Zhang C, Zipunnikov V, Zöllner HJ, Edden RAE
JournalNeuroimage
Volume159
Pagination32-45
Date Published2017 Oct 01
ISSN1095-9572
KeywordsAdult, Brain, Datasets as Topic, Female, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Male, Young Adult
Abstract

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is the only biomedical imaging method that can noninvasively detect endogenous signals from the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the human brain. Its increasing popularity has been aided by improvements in scanner hardware and acquisition methodology, as well as by broader access to pulse sequences that can selectively detect GABA, in particular J-difference spectral editing sequences. Nevertheless, implementations of GABA-edited MRS remain diverse across research sites, making comparisons between studies challenging. This large-scale multi-vendor, multi-site study seeks to better understand the factors that impact measurement outcomes of GABA-edited MRS. An international consortium of 24 research sites was formed. Data from 272 healthy adults were acquired on scanners from the three major MRI vendors and analyzed using the Gannet processing pipeline. MRS data were acquired in the medial parietal lobe with standard GABA+ and macromolecule- (MM-) suppressed GABA editing. The coefficient of variation across the entire cohort was 12% for GABA+ measurements and 28% for MM-suppressed GABA measurements. A multilevel analysis revealed that most of the variance (72%) in the GABA+ data was accounted for by differences between participants within-site, while site-level differences accounted for comparatively more variance (20%) than vendor-level differences (8%). For MM-suppressed GABA data, the variance was distributed equally between site- (50%) and participant-level (50%) differences. The findings show that GABA+ measurements exhibit strong agreement when implemented with a standard protocol. There is, however, increased variability for MM-suppressed GABA measurements that is attributed in part to differences in site-to-site data acquisition. This study's protocol establishes a framework for future methodological standardization of GABA-edited MRS, while the results provide valuable benchmarks for the MRS community.

DOI10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.07.021
Alternate JournalNeuroimage
PubMed ID28716717
PubMed Central IDPMC5700835
Grant ListS10 OD012336 / OD / NIH HHS / United States
R01 EB023963 / EB / NIBIB NIH HHS / United States
R21 DA043917 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States
P50 AA010761 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AA025365 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
K99 MH107719 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R00 MH107719 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
P41 EB015909 / EB / NIBIB NIH HHS / United States
F32 EY025121 / EY / NEI NIH HHS / United States
R01 EB016089 / EB / NIBIB NIH HHS / United States
U54 HD086984 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States
K23 AA020842 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States