Quantitative MRI Visualizes Communication Within the Brain

New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology can measure alterations in the microstructure of the white matter of the brain, which are prone to affect brain function and the ability of different regions of the brain to communicate.

The study’s findings were published online February 9, 2012, in the neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity. Brain function depends on the capability of different brain regions to communicate through signaling networks that move along white matter tracts. Using different types and amounts of tissue staining to measure how water molecules interact with the neighboring brain tissue, researchers can quantify changes in the orientation, density, and organization of white matter. They can then use these data to generate image maps of these signaling networks, a method called tractography.

Dr. Andrew Alexander and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA) described three quantitative MRI (qMRI) techniques that are enabling the characterization of the microstructural characteristics of white matter: diffusion MRI, magnetization transfer imaging, and relaxometry. This application can be utilized to examine and compare the properties of brain tissue across populations and to shed light on mechanisms underlying aging, disease, and gender differences in brain function, for example.

“White matter is the material that provides for the wiring and connectivity between brain regions. This exciting paper describes three new methodologies to measure the integrity of white matter in normal and diseased brain. These methods show promise in multiple sclerosis, depression, aging, and human development,” said Bharat Biswal, PhD, coeditor-in-chief of Brain Connectivity, and associate professor, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (Newark, USA).

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