title: Mapping average axon diameters in porcine spinal cord white matter and rat corpus callosum using d-PFG MRI.
abstract: Knowledge of microstructural features of nerve fascicles, such as their axon diameter, is crucial for understanding normal function in the central and peripheral nervous systems as well as assessing changes due to pathologies. In this study double-pulsed field gradient (d-PFG) filtered MRI was used to map the average axon diameter (AAD) in porcine spinal cord, which was then compared to AADs measured with optical microscopy of the same specimen, as a way to further validate this new MRI method. A novel 3D d-PFG acquisition scheme was used to obtain AADs in each voxel of a coronal slice of rat brain corpus callosum. AAD measurements were also acquired using optical microscopy performed on histological sections and validated using a glass capillary array phantom.
authors.affiliation: Section on Tissue Biophysics and Biomimetics, PPITS, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. komloshm@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Komlosh
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Özarslan
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lizak
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horkayne-Szakaly
authors.forename: R Z
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Freidlin
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Horkay
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Basser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013552:Swine