In vivo H-1 NMR spectroscopy of the human brain at 7 T

In vivo H-1 NMR spectra from the human brain were measured at 7 T. Ultrasho rt echo-time STEAM was used to minimize)modulation and signal attenuation c aused by the shorter T-2 of metabolites. Precise adjustment of higher-order shims, which was achieved with FASTMAP, was crucial to benefit from this h igh magnetic field. Sensitivity improvements were evident from single-shot spectra and from the direct detection of glucose at 5.23 ppm in 8-ml volume s. The linewidth of the creatine methyl resonance was at best 9 Hz. In spit e of the increased linewidth of singlet resonances at 7 T, the ability to r esolve overlapping multiplets of J-coupled spin systems, such as glutamine and glutamate, was substantially increased. Characteristic spectral pattern s of metabolites, e.g., myo-inositol and taurine, were discernible in the i n vivo spectra, which facilitated an unambiguous signal assignment. (C) 200 1 Wiley-Liss, Inc.