title: Measuring diffusion parameters in the brain: comparing the real-time iontophoretic method and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance.
abstract: The extracellular space (ECS) diffusion parameters influence the movement of ions, neuroactive substances, hormones and metabolites in the nervous tissue. They also affect extrasynaptic transmission, a mode of signal transmission dependent solely on diffusion. This review compares in detail two methods for studying diffusion in the brain: the real-time iontophoretic tetramethylammonium method for ECS volume fraction and tortuosity measurements and diffusion weighted-magnetic resonance imaging for measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient of water. The results obtained using both methods under physiological conditions (post-natal development, ageing) or in pathologies (brain injury, ischaemia) and their similarities and differences are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vorisek
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sykova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007478:Iontophoresis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*