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ROBERT G. SHULMAN

In vivo NMR spectroscopy of metabolism and brain function
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an important approach to study metabolic pathways in vivo. We have been actively extending NMR techniques and developing new applications in order to understand the basic biochemistry of metabolism in vivo. Equipment at the Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC) includes a 4.0 Tesla spectrometer capable of imaging humans for localized spectroscopic studies, similar spectrometers for animal studies at fields of 7T, 9.4T and 11.74T for studying rats and mice. High resolution NMR spectroscopy is used to follow chemical reactions and brain activity in vivo and NMR imaging methods enable functional areas of brain activity to be resolved. Our goals are to understand quantitatively the regulation and control of metabolic fluxes in humans by in vivo NMR measurements of brain and muscle and to relate such metabolic understanding to normal and pathological functions.

Selected Publications
Shulman, RG, Hyder, F., and Rothman, DL (2003) Cerebral metabolism and consciousness. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 326:253-273.

R.G. Shulman and M.F. Reiser (2004) Freud’s Theory of Mind and Functional Imaging Experiments. Neuro-psychoanalysis, 6(2):133-164.

Schafer JRA, Fell DA, Rothman DL, and Shulman RG (2004) Protein phosphorylation can regulate metabolite concentrations rather than control flux: The example of Glycogen Synthase. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 101(6):1485-1490.

Shulman RG, Rothman DL, Behar KL, and Hyder F (2004) Energetic basis of brain activity: Implications for neuroimaging. Trends in Neurosci, 27(8):489-495.

Hyder F, Patel AB, Gjedde A, Rothman DL, Behar KL, and Shulman RG (2006) Neuronal-glial glucose oxidation and glutamateric-GABAergic function. J. Cere. Blood Flow and Metab., 1-13.

Last updated 12-18-06