Diffusion interactions between crossing fibers of the brain.
Magn Reson Med
; 86(1): 429-441, 2021 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33619754
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Recent observations of several preferred orientations of diffusion in deep white matter may indicate either (a) that axons in different directions are independently bundled in thick sheets and function noninteractively, or more interestingly, (b) that the axons are closely interwoven and would exhibit branching and sharp turns. This study aims to investigate whether the dependence of dMRI Q-ball signal on the interpulse time Δ can decode the smaller-than-voxel-size brain structure, in particular, to distinguish scenarios (a) and (b).METHODS:
High-resolution Q-ball images of a healthy brain taken with b=8000 s/mm2 for 3 different values of Δ were analyzed. The exchange of water molecules between crossing fibers was characterized by the fourth Fourier coefficient f4(Δ) of the signal profile in the plane of crossing. To interpret the empirical results, a model consisting of differently oriented parallel sheets of cylinders was developed. Diffusion of water molecules inside and outside cylinders was simulated by the Monte Carlo method.RESULTS:
Simulations predict that f4(Δ) , agreeing with the empirical results, must increase with Δ for large b-values, but may peak at a typical Δ that depends on the thickness of the cylinder sheets for intermediate b-values. Thus, the thickness of axon layers in voxels with 2 predominant orientations can be detected from empirical f4(Δ) taken at smaller b-values.CONCLUSION:
Based on the simulation results, recommendations are made on how to design a dMRI experiment with optimal b-value and range of Δ in order to measure the thickness of axon sheets in the white matter, hence to distinguish (a) and (b).Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador
/
Substância Branca
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Magn Reson Med
Assunto da revista:
DIAGNOSTICO POR IMAGEM
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos