{Reference Type}: Systematic Review
{Title}: Neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging in the study of mental disorder: A systematic review.
{Author}: Lv Q;Wang X;Lin P;Wang X;
{Journal}: Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging
{Volume}: 339
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: 2024 Apr 26
{Factor}: 2.493
{DOI}: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2024.111785
{Abstract}: Dopamine and norepinephrine are implicated in the pathophysiology of mental disorders, but non-invasive study of their neuronal function remains challenging. Recent research suggests that neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) techniques may overcome this limitation by enabling the non-invasive imaging of the substantia nigra (SN)/ ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic and locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic systems. A review of 19 studies that met the criteria for NM-MRI application in mental disorders found that despite the use of heterogeneous sequence parameters and metrics, nearly all studies reported differences in contrast ratio (CNR) of LC or SN/VTA between patients with mental disorders and healthy controls. These findings suggest that NM-MRI is a valuable tool in psychiatry, but the differences in sequence parameters across studies hinder comparability, and a standardized analysis pipeline is needed to improve the reliability of results. Further research using standardized methods is needed to better understand the role of dopamine and norepinephrine in mental disorders.