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Effects of Ethanol on the NMR Characteristics of Rat Brain

Acute Administration, Dependency, and Long-Term Effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

J. A. O. Besson*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health
S. G. Greentree
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health
M. A. Foster
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering, University of Aberdeen
J. E. Rimmington
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering, University of Aberdeen
*
Department of Mental Health, University Medical Buildings, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB9 2ZD

Abstract

In rats, neither acute administration of ethanol nor the establishment of ethanol dependence by chronic administration for 28 days produced significant 1H-NMR relaxation changes. However, chronic ethanol intake for six months produced a transient rise in T1, with no change in T2 or water content. The significance of these results for study in man is discussed and a hypothesis is proposed to explain discrepant differences between T1, T2 and water content. It is suggested that T1 change with long-term ethanol exposure is related to altered free/bound water state secondary to cell membrane changes.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

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