Activation autoradiography: imaging and quantitative determination of endogenous and exogenous oxygen in the rat brain.

Endogenous and exogenous oxygen in the rat brain were quantitatively determined using an autoradiographic technique. The oxygen images of frozen and dried rat brain sections were obtained as 18F images by using the 16O (3He,p)18F reaction for endogenous 16O images and the 18O(p,n)18F reaction for endogenous and exogenous 18O images. These autoradiograms demonstrated the different distribution of oxygen between gray and white matter. These images also allowed differentiation of the individual structures of hippocampal formation, owing to the differing water content of the various structures. Local oxygen contents were quantitatively determined from autoradiograms of brain sections and standard sections with known oxygen contents. The estimated values were 75.6 +/- 4.6 wt% in gray matter and 72.2 +/- 4.0 wt% in white matter. The systematic error in the present method was estimated to be 4.9%.