Magnetic Field Dependence of Spectral Correlations between 31P-Containing Metabolites in Brain

• Published in: Metabolites Vol. 13; no. 2; p. 211
• Main Authors: Hong, Sungtak, Shen, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 31.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Adenosine triphosphate; Correlation analysis; Data processing; Datasets; Disease; Investigations; linewidth; magnetic field strengths; Magnetic fields; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Mathematical models; Metabolites; Pearson’s correlation coefficient; Phospholipids; spectral baseline; spectral overlap; Spectrum analysis; Transplants & implants
• ISSN: 2218-1989; 2218-1989
• DOI: 10.3390/metabo13020211

Spectral correlations between metabolites in 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) spectra of human brain were compared at 3 and 7 Tesla, the two commonly used magnetic field strengths for clinical research. It was found that at both field strengths, there are significant correlations between 31P-containing metabolites arising from spectral overlap, and their downfield correlations are markedly altered by the background spectral baseline. Overall, the spectral correlations between 31P-containing metabolites are markedly reduced at 7 Tesla with the increased chemical shift dispersion and the decreased membrane phospholipid signal. The findings provide the quantitative landscape of pre-existing correlations in 31P MRS spectra due to overlapping signals. Detailed procedures for quantifying the pre-existing correlations between 31P-containing metabolites are presented to facilitate incorporation of spectral correlations into statistical modeling in clinical correlation studies.