GluMap – mapping glutamate biomarkers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pioneering Whole-Brain Glutamate Imaging in Psychosis: Towards New Diagnostic Markers
IRAS ID
366334
Contact name
Kate Merritt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2026/01/99, UCL Data Protection Registration Number
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This project will use a new neuroimaging methodology: three-dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (3D-MRSI), in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). 3D-MRSI is an advanced, non-invasive MRI technique that allows quantification of brain metabolites across the entire brain in a single scan session. This method has been validated and successfully applied in healthy volunteers at UCL, but it is yet to be used to measure whole-brain glutamate in patients with psychosis, which is the aim of this study.
Glutamate is the brain’s major excitatory neurotransmitter and plays a key role in synaptic function. A large body of evidence using an older spectroscopic imaging technique finds altered levels of glutamate in psychosis which relate to treatment response. However, this old technique (single-voxel MRS) is limited to measuring metabolites from only one brain region at a time. This prevents researchers from understanding how glutamate is altered across brain networks. This is improtant, as schizophrenia is hypothesised to result from changes in the whole brain network, not just one brain region.
This study will acquire whole-brain glutamate maps from 14 individuals with first-episode psychosis, recruited from NHS Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services in London. By comparing their data with 3D-MRSI data from healthy volunteers, the study aims to identify whether glutamate reductions occur in key networks implicated in psychosis.
This pilot project is essential for establishing feasibility, acceptability, data quality, and variance estimates, all of which are critical prerequisites for a future multi-centre study. This pilot study will pave the way for future research to investigate whether network glutamate abnormalities predict treatment response in psychosis. Ultimately, this work aims to develop predictive biomarkers of prognosis in psychosis to accelerate access to appropriate medication and support more personalised clinical decision-making.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/SC/0183
Date of REC Opinion
2 Jun 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion