Track-Density Imaging of the Human Brainstem for Anatomic Localization of Fiber Tracts and Nerve Nuclei in Vivo: Initial Experience with 3-T Magnetic Resonance Imaging

摘要

BACKGROUND: The brainstem comprises a large variety of fiber tracts and nerve nuclei and is unarguably one of the most crucial parts of the brain. Reliable noninvasive visualization of its anatomy may help relate normal and pathological anatomic variations to neurologic/psychiatric disorders. In this study, we explored the potential of direction-encoded track-density imaging (TDI) for depicting the intricate anatomy of the brainstem.