MR Diffusion Tensor Imaging: a Window into White Matter Integrity of the Working Brain

Overview

Journal Neuropsychol Rev

Specialties Neurology
Psychology

Date 2010 Apr 28

PMID 20422451

Citations 119

Authors

Sandra Chanraud

Natalie Zahr

Edith V Sullivan

Adolf Pfefferbaum

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

As Norman Geschwind asserted in 1965, syndromes resulting from white matter lesions could produce deficits in higher-order functions and "disconnexion" or the interruption of connection between gray matter regions could be as disruptive as trauma to those regions per se. The advent of in vivo diffusion tensor imaging, which allows quantitative characterization of white matter fiber integrity in health and disease, has served to strengthen Geschwind's proposal. Here we present an overview of the principles of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and its contribution to progress in our current understanding of normal and pathological brain function.

Citing Articles

Yu X, He H, Wen J, Xu X, Ruan Z, Hu R Open Med (Wars). 2025; 20(1):20241091.

PMID: 39822993 PMC: 11737369. DOI: 10.1515/med-2024-1091.

Frontotemporal structure preservation underlies the protective effect of lifetime intellectual cognitive reserve on cognition in the elderly.

Wang D, Li X, Dang M, Zhao S, Sang F, Zhang Z Alzheimers Res Ther. 2024; 16(1):255.

PMID: 39580450 PMC: 11585141. DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01613-6.

Repeatability of diffusion kurtosis tensor parameters in muscles of the lower legs.

Mathew E, Dortch R, Damon B, Ragunathan S, Quarles C Magn Reson Med. 2024; 93(3):1306-1313.

PMID: 39529224 PMC: 11682918. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.30344.

Local Neuronal Activity and the Hippocampal Functional Network Can Predict the Recovery of Consciousness in Individuals With Acute Disorders of Consciousness Caused by Neurological Injury.

Wang X, Liu X, Zhao L, Shen Z, Gao K, Wang Y CNS Neurosci Ther. 2024; 30(11):e70108.

PMID: 39508317 PMC: 11541605. DOI: 10.1111/cns.70108.

Structural connectivity modifications following deep brain stimulation of the subcallosal cingulate and nucleus accumbens in severe anorexia nervosa.

Abellaneda-Perez K, Delgado-Martinez I, Salgado P, Gines J, Guardiola R, Vaque-Alcazar L Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2024; 166(1):364.

PMID: 39261306 DOI: 10.1007/s00701-024-06258-w.

References

Chang L, Ernst T . MR spectroscopy and diffusion-weighted MR imaging in focal brain lesions in AIDS. Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 1997; 7(3):409-26. View

Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan E, Mathalon D, Lim K . Frontal lobe volume loss observed with magnetic resonance imaging in older chronic alcoholics. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997; 21(3):521-9. DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb03798.x. View

Hoptman M, Volavka J, Johnson G, Weiss E, Bilder R, Lim K . Frontal white matter microstructure, aggression, and impulsivity in men with schizophrenia: a preliminary study. Biol Psychiatry. 2002; 52(1):9-14. DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01311-2. View

Bendlin B, Ries M, Lazar M, Alexander A, Dempsey R, Rowley H . Longitudinal changes in patients with traumatic brain injury assessed with diffusion-tensor and volumetric imaging. Neuroimage. 2008; 42(2):503-14. PMC: 2613482. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.04.254. View

Paul R, Cohen R, Navia B, Tashima K . Relationships between cognition and structural neuroimaging findings in adults with human immunodeficiency virus type-1. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2002; 26(3):353-9. DOI: 10.1016/s0149-7634(02)00006-4. View

Duan J, Wang H, Xu J, Lin X, Chen S, Kang Z . White matter damage of patients with Alzheimer's disease correlated with the decreased cognitive function. Surg Radiol Anat. 2006; 28(2):150-6. DOI: 10.1007/s00276-006-0111-2. View

Pfefferbaum A, Lim K, Desmond J, Sullivan E . Thinning of the corpus callosum in older alcoholic men: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1996; 20(4):752-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1996.tb01682.x. View

Falangola M, Jensen J, Babb J, Hu C, Castellanos F, Di Martino A . Age-related non-Gaussian diffusion patterns in the prefrontal brain. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2008; 28(6):1345-50. PMC: 2669671. DOI: 10.1002/jmri.21604. View

Harper C, Kril J, Daly J . Are we drinking our neurones away?. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1987; 294(6571):534-6. PMC: 1245575. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.294.6571.534. View

10.

Perez-Iglesias R, Tordesillas-Gutierrez D, McGuire P, Barker G, Roiz-Santianez R, Mata I . White matter integrity and cognitive impairment in first-episode psychosis. Am J Psychiatry. 2010; 167(4):451-8. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09050716. View

11.

Yoon B, Shim Y, Lee K, Shon Y, Yang D . Region-specific changes of cerebral white matter during normal aging: a diffusion-tensor analysis. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2007; 47(1):129-38. DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2007.07.004. View

12.

Stebbins G, Smith C, Bartt R, Kessler H, Adeyemi O, Martin E . HIV-associated alterations in normal-appearing white matter: a voxel-wise diffusion tensor imaging study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2008; 46(5):564-73. DOI: 10.1097/qai.0b013e318159d807. View

13.

Chepuri N, Yen Y, Burdette J, Li H, Moody D, Maldjian J . Diffusion anisotropy in the corpus callosum. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2002; 23(5):803-8. PMC: 7974733. View

14.

Wu Y, Storey P, Cohen B, Epstein L, Edelman R, Ragin A . Diffusion alterations in corpus callosum of patients with HIV. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2006; 27(3):656-60. PMC: 2901995. View

15.

Levin H . Head trauma. Curr Opin Neurol. 1993; 6(6):841-6. DOI: 10.1097/00019052-199312000-00003. View

16.

Lebel C, Walker L, Leemans A, Phillips L, Beaulieu C . Microstructural maturation of the human brain from childhood to adulthood. Neuroimage. 2008; 40(3):1044-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.12.053. View

17.

Bozzali M, Franceschi M, Falini A, Pontesilli S, Cercignani M, Magnani G . Quantification of tissue damage in AD using diffusion tensor and magnetization transfer MRI. Neurology. 2001; 57(6):1135-7. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.57.6.1135. View

18.

Kril J, Halliday G, Svoboda M, Cartwright H . The cerebral cortex is damaged in chronic alcoholics. Neuroscience. 1997; 79(4):983-98. DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(97)00083-3. View

19.

Ardekani S, Kumar A, Bartzokis G, Sinha U . Exploratory voxel-based analysis of diffusion indices and hemispheric asymmetry in normal aging. Magn Reson Imaging. 2007; 25(2):154-67. DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2006.09.045. View

20.

Engelter S, Provenzale J, Petrella J, Delong D, MacFall J . The effect of aging on the apparent diffusion coefficient of normal-appearing white matter. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000; 175(2):425-30. DOI: 10.2214/ajr.175.2.1750425. View