Effects of hypoglycemia on human brain activation measured with fMRI

✍ Scribed by Adam W. Anderson; Rubina A. Heptulla; Naomi Driesen; Daniel Flanagan; Philip A. Goldberg; Timothy W. Jones; Fran Rife; Hedy Sarofin; William Tamborlane; Robert Sherwin; John C. Gore

• Book ID: 103840297
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 255 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-725X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2006.03.013

✦ Synopsis

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure the effects of acute hypoglycemia caused by passive sensory stimulation on brain activation. Visual stimulation was used to generate blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast, which was monitored during hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemic and euglycemic clamp studies. Hypoglycemia (50 +/- 1 mg glucose/dl) decreased the fMRI signal relative to euglycemia in 10 healthy human subjects: the fractional signal change was reduced by 28 +/- 12% (P < .05). These changes were reversed when euglycemia was restored. These data provide a basis of comparison for studies that quantify hypoglycemia-related changes in fMRI activity during cognitive tasks based on visual stimuli and demonstrate that variations in blood glucose levels may modulate BOLD signals in the healthy brain.