Publications by authors named "Ben Babourina-Brooks"

Working memory (WM) is one of the fundamental cognitive functions associated with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, the neurochemical mechanisms of WM, including the dynamic changes in neurometabolites such as glutamate and GABA in the DLPFC, remain unclear. Here, we investigated WM-related glutamate and GABA changes, alongside hemodynamic responses in the DLPFC, using a combination of functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

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Background: Depression is a substantial health and economic burden. In approximately one-third of patients, depression is resistant to first-line treatment; therefore, it is essential to find alternative treatments. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a neuromodulatory treatment involving the application of magnetic pulses to the brain that is approved in the United Kingdom and the United States in treatment-resistant depression.

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Background: H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) facilitates noninvasive diagnosis of pediatric brain tumors by providing metabolite profiles. Prospective studies of diagnostic accuracy and comparisons with conventional MRI are lacking. We aimed to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of MRS for childhood brain tumors and determine added clinical value compared with conventional MRI.

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Objective: To explore the small-world properties of brain functional networks in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) to aid diagnosis.

Methods: A total of 29 OSAHS patients and 26 matched healthy volunteers were scanned with blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) separately, and the whole brain was divided into 90 districts via automated anatomical labeling. The matrix Z was then built through a Fisher Z transformation.

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Objective: To develop and assess a short-duration JPRESS protocol for detection of overlapping metabolite biomarkers and its application to paediatric brain tumours at 3 Tesla.

Materials And Methods: The short-duration protocol (6 min) was optimised and compared for spectral quality to a high-resolution (38 min) JPRESS protocol in a phantom and five healthy volunteers. The 6-min JPRESS was acquired from four paediatric brain tumours and compared with short-TE PRESS.

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Paediatric brain tumours have a high mortality rate and are the most common solid tumour of childhood. Identification of high risk patients may allow for better treatment stratification. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) provides a non-invasive measure of brain tumour metabolism and quantifies metabolite survival markers to aid in the clinical management of patients.

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Background: Metabolite concentrations are fundamental biomarkers of disease and prognosis. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a noninvasive method for measuring metabolite concentrations; however, quantitation is affected by T relaxation.

Purpose: To estimate T relaxation times in pediatric brain tumors and assess how variation in T relaxation affects metabolite quantification.

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MRS thermometry has been utilized to measure temperature changes in the brain, which may aid in the diagnosis of brain trauma and tumours. However, the temperature calibration of the technique has been shown to be sensitive to non-temperature-based factors, which may provide unique information on the tissue microenvironment if the mechanisms can be further understood. The focus of this study was to investigate the effects of varied protein content on the calibration of MRS thermometry at 3 T, which has not been thoroughly explored in the literature.

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(1)H MRS thermometry has been investigated for brain trauma and hypothermia monitoring applications but has not been explored in brain tumours. The proton resonance frequency (PRF) of water is dependent on temperature but is also influenced by microenvironment factors, such as fast proton exchange with macromolecules, ionic concentration and magnetic susceptibility. (1)H MRS has been utilized for brain tumour diagnostic and prognostic purposes in children; however, the water PRF measure may provide complementary information to further improve characterization.

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Prostate cancer detection using diffusion-weighted imaging is highly affected by the accuracy of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in an image. Echo planar imaging (EPI) is a fast sequence commonly used for diffusion imaging but has inherent magnetic susceptibility and chemical shift artefacts associated. A diffusion sequence that is less affected by these artefacts is therefore advantageous.

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