title: MR diffusion tensor imaging: a window into white matter integrity of the working brain.
abstract: As Norman Geschwind asserted in 1965, syndromes resulting from white matter lesions could produce deficits in higher-order functions and "disconnexion" or the interruption of connection between gray matter regions could be as disruptive as trauma to those regions per se. The advent of in vivo diffusion tensor imaging, which allows quantitative characterization of white matter fiber integrity in health and disease, has served to strengthen Geschwind's proposal. Here we present an overview of the principles of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and its contribution to progress in our current understanding of normal and pathological brain function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine (MC5723), 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5723, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chanraud
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zahr
authors.forename: Edith V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Adolf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pfefferbaum
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000473:pathology; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology