title: Automatic segmentation of thalamic nuclei from diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: The nuclei of the thalamus have traditionally been delineated by their distinct cyto/myeloarchitectural appearance on histology. Here, we show that diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) can noninvasively resolve the major thalamic nuclei based on the characteristic fiber orientation of the corticothalamic/thalamocortical striations within each nucleus. Using an automatic clustering algorithm, we extracted the Talairach coordinates for the individual thalamic nuclei. The center-of-mass coordinates for the segmented nuclei were found to agree strongly with those obtained from a histological atlas. The ability to resolve thalamic nuclei with DTI will allow for morphometric analysis of specific nuclei and improved anatomical localization of functional activation in the thalamus.
authors.affiliation: Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Room 2301, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. mette@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Mette R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wiegell
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Tuch
authors.forename: Henrik B W
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Van J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Wedeen
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology*