Combining functional and diffusion tensor MRI.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the perceptual, motor, and cognitive capacities in humans is of increasing importance for basic and clinical neurosciences. The explanatory power of current fMRI techniques could be greatly expanded, however, if the pattern of the neuronal connections between the active cortical areas could likewise be visualized. In this study, we acquired blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) fMRI signals during the stimulation of subjects with a set of localizer stimuli for cortical visual areas. Subsequently, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from the same subjects were obtained, and the activation areas identified through fMRI were utilized as seeding points for 3D DTI fiber reconstruction algorithms. The methods developed in this study have the potential to lay a foundation for in vivo neuroanatomy and the ability for noninvasive longitudinal studies of brain development.
Kim
Dae-Shik
DS
Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, L-1004, Boston, MA 02118, USA. dskim@bu.edu
Kim
Mina
M
D000465:Algorithms; D001834:Body Water / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D004058:Diffusion; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception