Proton MR spectroscopy of the hippocampus at 3 Tesla in patients with major depression under pharmacological treatment

Purpose: In several studies, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) revealed varying metabolic alterations in different brain regions which are involved in emotional processing. Most of these studies performed MRS in the frontal lobe, basal ganglia or cingulum, only a few dealt with the hippocampus or amygdala regions. Because of the important role of the medial temporal lobe in the pathogenesis of depression, MRS of the hippocampus was performed at 3.0 T before and after medical treatment. Material and methods Examinations were done on our clinical 3T whole-body MR system (Gyroscan Achieva 3.0 T, Phili…