The sensitivity of neuroimaging modalities in the investigation of the GABA system

GABA is the ubiquitous inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and is involved in a wide variety of brain functions and implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders. GABA also has a metabolic role such that it is challenging to quantify the function of GABA as a neurotransmitter. This thesis aimed to investigate the neuroimaging modalities available for the measurement of brain GABA in vivo in humans, particularly their sensitivity to changes in synaptic GABA concentration.