Analysis of the chemical makeup of the brain enables a deeper understanding of several neurological processes. Molecular imaging that deciphers the spatial distribution of neurochemicals with high specificity and sensitivity is an exciting avenue in this aspect. The past two decades have witnessed a significant surge of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) that can simultaneously map the distribution of hundreds to thousands of biomolecules in the tissue specimen at a fairly high resolution, which is otherwise beyond the scope of other molecular imaging techniques. In this review, we have documented the evolution of MSI technologies in imaging the anatomical distribution of neurochemicals in the human brain in the context of several neuro diseases. This review also addresses the potential of MSI to be a next-generation molecular imaging technique with its promising applications in neuropathology.

中文翻译：

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通过成像质谱法对人脑进行化学分析

分析大脑的化学组成可以更深入地了解几个神经过程。以高特异性和灵敏度破译神经化学物质空间分布的分子成像是这方面令人兴奋的途径。过去 20 年见证了质谱成像 (MSI) 的显着激增，它可以以相当高的分辨率同时绘制组织样本中数百到数千个生物分子的分布图，否则这超出了其他分子成像技术的范围。在这篇综述中，我们记录了 MSI 技术在几种神经疾病背景下对人脑中神经化学物质的解剖分布进行成像的演变。