Diffusion Spectrum Imaging of Connective Structures in Normal and Disease Brain

摘要

Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) tractography has been demonstrated to reveal major neuronal fiber tracts in vivo. Here we present our works on applications of this technique to clinical neuroscience study. Our results showed that the asymmetry of arcuate fasciculi was related to the functional lateralization of language. In patients with brain tumors, the fiber stretch at the internal capsule of corticospinal tract (CST) was associated with the muscle power weakness. In chronic subcortical stroke, we found that fiber integrity at the internal capsule of CST at Day 30 could predict the motor outcome at Day 180. In patients with oppressive compulsive disorder, the degree of hyperconnectivity was associated with the severity of clinical scores. Having verified the clinical potential of DSI, future works will be focused on a standardized and automatic processing of the whole brain tractography and presentation of normalized GFA tract-specific profiles over a group of brains. This platform could greatly facilitate the process of tractography analysis and establish normative tract profiles in a large population. The normative profiles could serve as a digital resource for neuroscience research and health care guidelines.