Graeme Finlay Mason, PhD

Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Psychiatry; Director, Metabolic Modeling, Yale MRRC

Contact

Address:
Yale University, School of Medicine
Magnetic Resonance Research Center
TAC, N141, 300 Cedar Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8043
United States

Email: graeme.mason@yale.edu
Telephone: (203) 737-1478
Fax: (203) 785-6643

Education

PhD, 1991, Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT

BS, 1986, Nuclear Engineering with Honors and Minor in Spanish, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA

Please click here for Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

I develop experimental models and methods for studies of brain metabolism using 1H and 13C NMR in conjunction with 13C isotopic labeling in vivo. The work began during my graduate studies at Yale with the experimental determination of brain glucose transport kinetics and substrate competition for oxidative brain metabolism in a rat model. The work continued through my training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where I guided the group's 13C-labeling studies of the human brain in vivo in the 4.1T whole-body MR system. Returning to Yale, I am currently continuing to study the metabolism and neurotransmission in the human and animal brain in vivo, most recently studying effects of substance use and neuropsychiatric disorders, examining healthy subjects and patients to investigate relationships among GABA, glutamate, and glutamine concentrations and their rates of synthesis and release in the brain.

My research integrates quantitative approaches to measure functional brain chemistry and the study of neuropsychiatric disorders. The primary methods used are 1H and 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy, as well as the mathematical assessment of metabolism. Current areas of research includedepression, manic-depressive disorder, alcoholism, panic disorder, premenstrual syndrome, and post-partum depression. My primary areas of interest are the effects of alcohol and nicotine dependence on the brain, and to that end, my research programs evaluate acute and chronic effects of alcohol and nicotine on the brain, from the perspectives of neurotransmission, metabolism, adaptation, and vulnerability to dependence.

Selected Publications

1. Mason GF, Petersen KF, de Graaf RA, Shulman GI, Rothman DL (2007) Measurements of the anaplerotic rate in the human cerebral cortex using 13C MRS and [1-13C] and [2-13C]glucose. J Neurochem 100: 73-86.
2. Mason GF, Petersen KF, Lebon V, Rothman DL, Shulman GI (2006) Increased Brain Monocarboxylic Acid Transport and Utilization in Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes 55: 929-934.
3. Mason GF, Petrakis IL, de Graaf RA, Appel M, Gueorguieva R, Guidone E, Coric V, Epperson CN, Rothman DL, Krystal JH (2006) Cortical GABA Levels and the Recovery from Alcohol Dependence: Preliminary Evidence of Modification by Cigarette Smoking. Biol Psychiatry 59: 85:93.
4. de Graaf RA, Mason GF, Patel AB, Rothman DL, Behar KL (2004) Regional glucose metabolism and glutamatergic neurotransmission in rat brain in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101: 12700-12705.
5. Sanacora G, Blumberg H, Rothman DL, Krystal JH, Mason GF (2004) Subtype-specific alterations of aminobutyric acid and glutamate in patients with major depression. Arch Gen Psych 61: 705-713.
6. Mason GF, Petersen KF, de Graaf RA, Kanamatsu T, Otsuki T, Shulman GI, Rothman DL (2003) A Comparison of 13C NMR Measurements of the Rates of Glutamine Synthesis and the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle During Oral and Intravenous Administration of [1-13C]Glucose. Brain Res Protocols 10: 181-190.
7. Mason GF, Rothman DL (2004) Basic Principles of Metabolic Modeling of NMR 13C isotopic turnover to Determine Rates of Brain Metabolism In Vivo. Metabolic Engineering 6: 75-84 (cover).
8. Mason GF, Martin DL, Martin SB, Manor D, Sibson NR, Patel A, Rothman DL, Behar KL (2001) Decrease in GABA synthesis rate in rat cortex following vigabatrin administration correlates with the decrease in GAD67 protein. Brain Research 914: 81-91.
9. Mason GF, Gruetter R, Rothman DL, Behar KL, Shulman RG, Novotny EJ (1995) Simultaneous determination of the rates of the TCA cycle, glucose utilization, ketoglutarate/glutamate exchange, and glutamine synthesis in human brain by NMR. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 15: 12-25
   (for reprints contact Graeme Mason)
10. Mason GF, Rothman DL, Behar KL, Shulman RG (1992) NMR determination of TCA cycle rate and ketoglutarate/glutamate exchange rate in rat brain. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 12: 434-447
    (for reprints contact Graeme Mason)

For a further list of Mason's publications, please see PubMed.

Current and Former Trainees

Current trainees:
Jie Wang, joint with Professor Zhide Hu of Lanzhou University
Lihong Jiang, PhD, joint with Kevin Behar

Former trainees:
Kristin Haga, PhD
Gabriel Simon, MD
Rosane Gomez, PhD
June Watzl, PhD