On June 5th, 2012, Prof. Yang Shaolin from University of Illinois at Chicago, had delivered a lecture entitled “Technical Development and Application of Proton MR spectroscopy in Brain Research” in Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics (WIPM, CAS).

In the report, Prof. Yang introduced in detail that the new 1H MR spectroscopy methods (including optimized 1D spectroscopy, 2D J-resolved spectroscopy, and spectral editing) they developed to noninvasively measure neurotransmitters Glutamate and GABA and other metabolites such as Glutamine and Glutathione in research of normal brain function, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorders. Prof. Yang also described the methods they developed in real-time functional MRI (fMRI) for neurofeedback, magnetization transfer (MT) imaging to examine the integrity of white matter and gray matter, perfusion MRI for measurement of cerebral blood flow and volume, and resting-state fMRI techniques to study the functional connectivity. They integrate these multimodal approaches (MRS, MT, fMRI, and DTI) to study brain function and develop efficient therapies in treatment of psychiatric disorders (including major depression with diabetes and substance abuse).

The lecture had attracted experts and students both in experimental and theoretical research, and Prof. Yang carried out productive communication and discussion with research staff and students on the potential clinical application of these methods and difficulties.