Quantitative MRI Visualizes Communication Within the Brain

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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University of Wisconsin, Madison