Regional differences in the proton magnetic resonance relaxation times T1 and T2 within the normal human brain.

The proton magnetic resonance (MR) relaxation times T1 and T2 were determined in autopsy specimens from 13 different regions of normal human brains. One hundred and seventy-four tissue samples from 25 brains were examined in a pulsed MR analyzer of 0.25 T and were then also studied histologically. There were regional differences in T1 and T2 within the cerebral gray matter but not within the white matter. These regional differences might reflect the different composition and cytoarchitectonic structure of the cortical regions and should be taken into consideration in the interpretation of cortical lesions on MR images.