Lipid classes such as phosphatidylcholines, ethanolamine plasmalogens and a number of sphingosine-based lipids (ceramides, cerebrosides, and sphingomyelin) have been reported to be dysregulated in the Alzheimer’s brain. Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) as an imaging mass spectrometry source can be used to profile the spatial distribution of lipids and other analytes directly from the surface of a biological sample with minimal sample preparation, thus maintaining the integrity of the analyte distribution.