title: Human cervical spinal cord funiculi: investigation with magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To use spinal cord diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for investigating human cervical funiculi, acquire axial diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data with an in-plane resolution sufficient to delineate subquadrants within the spinal cord, obtain corresponding DTI metrics, and assess potential regional differences.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy volunteers were studied with a 3 T Siemens Trio MRI scanner. DTI data were acquired using a single-shot spin echo EPI sequence. The spatial resolution allowed for the delineation of regions of interest (ROIs) in the ventral, dorsal, and lateral spinal cord funiculi. ROI-based and tractography-based analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant fractional anisotropy (FA) differences were found between ROIs in the dorsal and ventral funiculi (P = 0.0001), dorsal and lateral funiculi (P = 0.015), and lateral and ventral funiculi (P = 0.0002). Transverse diffusivity was significantly different between ROIs in the ventral and dorsal funiculi (P = 0.003) and the ventral and lateral funiculi (P = 0.004). Tractography-based quantifications revealed DTI parameter regional differences that were generally consistent with the ROI-based analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Original contributions are: 1) the use of a tractography-based method to quantify DTI metrics in the human cervical spinal cord, and 2) reported DTI values in various funiculi at 3 T.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onu
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gervai
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen-Adad
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornelsen
authors.forename: Boguslaw
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomanek
authors.forename: Uta Nicola
authors.initials: UN
authors.lastname: Sboto-Frankenstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods