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Radiology. 2016 Nov;281(2):516-526. Epub 2016 Jun 28.

Multimodal Randomized Functional MR Imaging of the Effects of Methylene Blue in the Human Brain.

Author information

1
From the Research Imaging Institute (P.R., W.Z., J.L., J.L.L., T.Q.D.) and Department of Radiology (P.R., W.A., J.E.G.), The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229; and Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex (D.W.B., F.G.L.).

Abstract

Purpose To investigate the sustained-attention and memory-enhancing neural correlates of the oral administration of methylene blue in the healthy human brain. Materials and Methods The institutional review board approved this prospective, HIPAA-compliant, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, and all patients provided informed consent. Twenty-six subjects (age range, 22-62 years) were enrolled. Functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed with a psychomotor vigilance task (sustained attention) and delayed match-to-sample tasks (short-term memory) before and 1 hour after administration of low-dose methylene blue or a placebo. Cerebrovascular reactivity effects were also measured with the carbon dioxide challenge, in which a 2 × 2 repeated-measures analysis of variance was performed with a drug (methylene blue vs placebo) and time (before vs after administration of the drug) as factors to assess drug × time between group interactions. Multiple comparison correction was applied, with cluster-corrected P < .05 indicating a significant difference. Results Administration of methylene blue increased response in the bilateral insular cortex during a psychomotor vigilance task (Z = 2.9-3.4, P = .01-.008) and functional MR imaging response during a short-term memory task involving the prefrontal, parietal, and occipital cortex (Z = 2.9-4.2, P = .03-.0003). Methylene blue was also associated with a 7% increase in correct responses during memory retrieval (P = .01). Conclusion Low-dose methylene blue can increase functional MR imaging activity during sustained attention and short-term memory tasks and enhance memory retrieval. © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

PMID:
27351678
PMCID:
PMC5084971
DOI:
10.1148/radiol.2016152893
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
Free PMC Article

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