Magnetic resonance imaging of rat brain following kainic acid-induced lesions and fetal striatal tissue transplants

Use of a small diameter (5.1 cm) radiofrequency coil provided relatively high resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of rat heads at 0.14 Tesla. On T1-weighted images, the rat brain was clearly visible in the rat head as a region of high signal intensity. No structures were distinguished within the normal rat brain. In contrast, in the brains of rats receiving unilateral kainic acid lesions of the striatum, enlarged lateral ventricles, which are characteristic of the lesion, were clearly visible as dark areas of low signal intensity. Extrastriatal damage on the lesioned side of the brain was also evident in some of the images. Fetal striatal tissue transplants growing within the lesioned striata were also identified in the MR images. The transplanted tissue appeared as areas of high and intermediate signal intensity, similar to the host brain. MR imaging is a useful technique for monitoring excitotoxin lesions of brain and fetal striatal tissue transplants in vivo.