Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Ultra-high field31P functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals NAD+dynamics in brain energy metabolism during visual stimulation

Kaiser, Antonia ; Anvari Vind, Fatemeh ; Duarte, Joao M.N. LU orcid ; Jelescu, Ileana ; Lin, Yan ; Yu, Xin ; Widmaier, Mark ; Wenz, Daniel and Xin, Lijing (2026) In Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Abstract

We investigated dynamic changes in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism in the human occipital lobe using ultra-high field 31P functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) at 7 T. Twenty-five healthy volunteers (mean age 24 ± 4 years, 10 females) performed a visual task alternating between fixation and flashing checkerboard stimuli. 31P MRS spectra were acquired from a visual cortex voxel functionally localized by prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Linear mixed-effects modeling revealed a significant reduction in NAD+ concentrations during the first stimulation block, while no significant change was observed during the second block. No significant changes... (More)

We investigated dynamic changes in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism in the human occipital lobe using ultra-high field 31P functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) at 7 T. Twenty-five healthy volunteers (mean age 24 ± 4 years, 10 females) performed a visual task alternating between fixation and flashing checkerboard stimuli. 31P MRS spectra were acquired from a visual cortex voxel functionally localized by prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Linear mixed-effects modeling revealed a significant reduction in NAD+ concentrations during the first stimulation block, while no significant change was observed during the second block. No significant changes were observed for other high-energy phosphate metabolites (ATP, phosphocreatine, and inorganic phosphate), indicating specificity in the NAD+ response. Exploratory analyses, dividing the blocks in two halves, suggested further reductions in NAD+ and tNAD in the second halves of both stimulation blocks, though these trends were not statistically significant. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using fMRS at 7 T to detect stimulus-induced dynamics in cerebral NAD+ metabolism in vivo, providing insights into the interplay between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation during neural activation.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
keywords
P, energy metabolism, fMRS, NAD(H), visual stimulation
in
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:41816808
  • scopus:105032807392
ISSN
0271-678X
DOI
10.1177/0271678X261415784
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026
id
7223900c-e88c-46f6-a167-9417caa82d82
date added to LUP
2026-04-27 15:40:45
date last changed
2026-05-25 17:28:21
@article{7223900c-e88c-46f6-a167-9417caa82d82,
  abstract     = {{<p>We investigated dynamic changes in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD<sup>+</sup>) metabolism in the human occipital lobe using ultra-high field <sup>31</sup>P functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) at 7 T. Twenty-five healthy volunteers (mean age 24 ± 4 years, 10 females) performed a visual task alternating between fixation and flashing checkerboard stimuli. <sup>31</sup>P MRS spectra were acquired from a visual cortex voxel functionally localized by prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Linear mixed-effects modeling revealed a significant reduction in NAD<sup>+</sup> concentrations during the first stimulation block, while no significant change was observed during the second block. No significant changes were observed for other high-energy phosphate metabolites (ATP, phosphocreatine, and inorganic phosphate), indicating specificity in the NAD<sup>+</sup> response. Exploratory analyses, dividing the blocks in two halves, suggested further reductions in NAD<sup>+</sup> and tNAD in the second halves of both stimulation blocks, though these trends were not statistically significant. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using fMRS at 7 T to detect stimulus-induced dynamics in cerebral NAD<sup>+</sup> metabolism in vivo, providing insights into the interplay between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation during neural activation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kaiser, Antonia and Anvari Vind, Fatemeh and Duarte, Joao M.N. and Jelescu, Ileana and Lin, Yan and Yu, Xin and Widmaier, Mark and Wenz, Daniel and Xin, Lijing}},
  issn         = {{0271-678X}},
  keywords     = {{P; energy metabolism; fMRS; NAD(H); visual stimulation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism}},
  title        = {{Ultra-high field<sup>31</sup>P functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals NAD<sup>+</sup>dynamics in brain energy metabolism during visual stimulation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0271678X261415784}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/0271678X261415784}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}