Abstract
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) is a popular method used by neuroscientists to uncover unique information about the structural connections within the brain. dMRI is a non-invasive imaging methodology in which image contrast is based on the diffusion of water molecules in tissue. While applicable to many tissues in the body, this review focuses exclusively on the use of dMRI to examine white matter in the brain. In this review, we begin with a definition of diffusion and how diffusion is measured with MRI. Next we introduce the diffusion tensor model, the predominant model used in dMRI. We then describe acquisition issues related to acquisition parameters and scanner hardware and software. Sources of artifacts are then discussed, followed by a brief review of analysis approaches. We provide an overview of the limitations of the traditional diffusion tensor model, and highlight several more sophisticated non-tensor models that better describe the complex architecture of the brain’s white matter. We then touch on reliability and validity issues of diffusion measurements. Finally, we describe examples of ways in which dMRI has been applied to studies of brain disorders and how identified alterations relate to symptomatology and cognition.
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Acknowledgments
Data for Fig. 8 were provided by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research; and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. Christophe Lenglet, PhD processed the HCP data.
Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMRR): P41 EB015894 and P30 NS076408.
Author Funding
LH: National Institute on Aging R01AG038651-01A1, National Institute on Aging R01AG386561, National Institute on Aging R01AG039396, National Institute on Aging U01AG046871.
KOL: National Institute on Aging R01AG038651-01A1.
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Glossary
- MRI
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Magnetic resonance imaging - non-invasive technique that provides images of internal structures by measuring excitability of atoms after application of high-frequency radio waves within a strong magnetic field.
- EPI
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Echo planar imaging - a type of MRI that utilizes only one nuclear spin excitation per scanned image allowing faster acquisitions.
- dMRI
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Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging - non-invasive technique that measures the diffusion of molecules (mainly water) in biological tissue (such as the brain) allowing characterization of white matter tracts in the brain.
- fMRI
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Functional magnetic resonance imaging - non-invasive technique that can be used to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow and oxygenation that occur during neural activity.
- ASL
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Arterial spin labeling - non-invasive technique that measures cerebral blood flow (without the need of injection of exogenous tracer) by using water in the blood as an endogenous tracer.
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Mueller, B.A., Lim, K.O., Hemmy, L. et al. Diffusion MRI and its Role in Neuropsychology. Neuropsychol Rev 25, 250–271 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-015-9291-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-015-9291-z