title: In vivo 3D MRI of insect brain: cerebral development during metamorphosis of Manduca sexta.
abstract: High-resolution 3D MRI of male pupae of Manduca sexta was performed at 2.35 T in order to evaluate its potential for an in vivo characterization of insect brain during metamorphosis. T1-weighted 3D FLASH (TR/TE = 20/7.8 ms, 25 degrees flip angle) and T2-weighted 3D fast SE MRI data sets (TR/TEeff = 3000/100 ms) were acquired at different developmental stages with an isotropic resolution of 100 microm. Both T1- and T2-weighted 3D MRI allowed for the identification of cerebral structures such as the antennal nerve, antennal and optical lobe, and central brain. Pronounced developmental alterations of the morphology were observed during metamorphosis. The results demonstrate the feasibility of 3D MRI at nanoliter resolution to identify major brain systems of M. sexta and respective changes during pupal development from caterpillar to sphinx moth. Together with the use of suitable contrast agents, this approach may provide new ways for studying the axonal connectivity and neural function of the developing insect brain.
authors.affiliation: Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH am Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen, Germany. tmichae@gwdg.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michaelis
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Natt
authors.forename: Susann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boretius
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frahm
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Utz
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schachtner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D018402:Manduca / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D009420:Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology