ArticleNeuroImage2022
On the relationship between GABA+ and glutamate across the brain.
Article in NeuroImage, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ultra-high field magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment in adolescents with depression.BMC psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Effects of Exogenous Monosodium Glutamate on GABA Accumulation and Volatile/Nonvolatile Metabolites in Black Highland Barley.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Neurochemical Correlates of Mind-Wandering and Meta-Awareness.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- A review of descending pain modulation in humans.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Age-dependent alterations in anterior cingulate excitation-inhibition balance in major depressive disorder revealed by 7-Tesla magnetic resonance spectroscopy.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Article
- Regular cannabis use modulates gamma functional connectivity with V1 during visual processing.NeuroImage · 2025Article
- Effects of N-acetylcysteine treatment on frontal glutamate and GABA levels and associations with drinking quantity in people with co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- State-dependent reactivity of anterior cingulate cortex neurochemistry and downstream autonomic arousal in intrusive thinking.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Article
- Distinct neurochemical predictors for different phases of decision-making learning.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2025Article
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- State-dependent memory mechanisms insights from neural circuits and clinical implications.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Leveraging ultra-high field (7T) MRI in psychiatric research.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Review
- MRS-assessed brain GABA modulation in response to task performance and learning.Behavioral and brain functions : BBF · 2024Review
- Neurochemical Predictors of Generalized Learning Induced by Brain Stimulation and Training.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Article
- Individual Differences in Decision Strategy Relate to Neurochemical Excitability and Cortical Thickness.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Article
- Anxious individuals shift emotion control from lateral frontal pole to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.Nature communications · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Equilibrium between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance) is key to healthy brain function. Conversely, disruption of normal E/I balance has been implicated in a range of central neurological pathologies. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides a non-invasive means of quantifying in vivo concentrations of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, which could be used as diagnostic biomarkers. Using the ratio of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters as an index of E/I balance is common practice in MRS work, but recent studies have shown inconsistent evidence for the validity of this proxy. This is underscored by the fact that different measures are often used in calculating E/I balance such as glutamate and Glx (glutamate and glutamine). Here we used a large MRS dataset obtained at ultra-high field (7 T) measured from 193 healthy young adults and focused on two brain regions - prefrontal and occipital cortex - to resolve this inconsistency. We find evidence that there is an inter-individual common ratio between GABA+ (γ-aminobutyric acid and macromolecules) and Glx in the occipital, but not prefrontal cortex. We further replicate the prefrontal result in a legacy dataset (n = 78) measured at high-field (3 T) strength. By contrast, with ultra-high field MRS data, we find extreme evidence that there is a common ratio between GABA+ and glutamate in both prefrontal and occipital cortices, which cannot be explained by participant demographics, signal quality, fractional tissue volume, or other metabolite concentrations. These results are consistent with previous electrophysiological and theoretical work supporting E/I balance. Our findings indicate that MRS-detected GABA+ and glutamate (but not Glx), are a reliable measure of E/I balance .
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.