Tests of clustering thalamic nuclei based on various dMRI models in the squirrel monkey brain

摘要

BackgroundClustering thalamic nuclei is important for both research and clinical purposes. For example, ventral intermediate nuclei in thalami serve as targets in both deep brain stimulation neurosurgery and radiosurgery for treating patients suffering from movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor). Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is able to reflect tissue microstructure in the central nervous system via fitting different models, such as, the diffusion tensor (DT), constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD), neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and the spherical mean technique (SMT).