# Using MR Spectroscopy to Measure Mammalian Neurogenesis in Vivo

> **NIH NIH R01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $759,246

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Since its discovery, adult mammalian hippocampal neurogenesis—particularly human—has attracted attention
and controversy. Envisioned as a unique, intrinsic capacity of the brain center for learning and memory and
mood control to repair and regenerate, over the past three decades it has been scrutinized in model
organisms, which provided a wealth of data confirming its functional relevance. The case for human
neurogenesis, however, has faced a much harder road to acceptance because the only means to study it has
been by immunostaining of the postmortem tissue. It is thus of no surprise that we know very little about it.
While most agree that adult human hippocampus harbors newborn neurons that decline with age and with
diseases such as Alzheimer’s, their functional importance has proved elusive without a live and non-invasive
measure.
As noted in the RFA, developing a means of measuring neurogenesis rates in vivo in a non-invasive manner is
of critical interest. Doing so in a technique that can be readily used in not only animal models, but also in
humans would give us a vital tool in our effort to not only understand neurogenesis per se, but to also
understand how neurogenesis may lead to impairments found in aging and in AD/ADRD. This proposal takes
as its foundation the innovation by our group of the first and only in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy
(MRS)-based marker of neurogenesis: a lipid-based signal resonating at 1.28 ppm. While our group’s initial
work in this area has identified and validated this biomarker, several critical gaps exist that must be addressed
before it can be widely adopted in human studies of aging and AD/ADRD. Our goal in this proposal is to adapt
a number of existing techniques to the accurate measurement and quantification of the 1.28ppm signal and to
further develop analytical methods based on deep machine learning so that it can be broadly and reliably used
to assess levels of and changes in human adult neurogenesis. In particular, we will: 1) Acquire data from
phantoms, in vivo and ex vivo mice, and humans using techniques that will allow for more reliable
quantification and validation, 2) Adapt the MEGA-PRESS technique successfully used to quantify GABA to
isolate the neurogenic-associated signal at 1.28ppm from the nearby lactate signal; 3) Adapt pre-processing
tools we have developed in related studies that enhance signal-to-noise in MRS signals from the hippocampus;
4) Further develop time-domain based processing tools to isolate the neurogenic signal from overlapping
components; and 5) Further develop a neural-network based approach to detect and quantify it. In each of
these areas, we have existing solutions that are functional, but we believe can be improved upon to provide
more reliable and robust quantification of the neurogenic signal. Here, we will formally evaluate the new
approaches relative to the existing approaches to produce a final acquisition-through-quantification pipeline
...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10834152
- **Project number:** 5R01AG076942-03
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** MIRJANA MALETIC-SAVATIC
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $759,246
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-06-01 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10834152

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10834152, Using MR Spectroscopy to Measure Mammalian Neurogenesis in Vivo (5R01AG076942-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10834152. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*