title: Imaging whole-brain cytoarchitecture of mouse with MRI-based quantitative susceptibility mapping.
abstract: The proper microstructural arrangement of complex neural structures is essential for establishing the functional circuitry of the brain. We present an MRI method to resolve tissue microstructure and infer brain cytoarchitecture by mapping the magnetic susceptibility in the brain at high resolution. This is possible because of the heterogeneous magnetic susceptibility created by varying concentrations of lipids, proteins and irons from the cell membrane to cytoplasm. We demonstrate magnetic susceptibility maps at a nominal resolution of 10-μm isotropic, approaching the average cell size of a mouse brain. The maps reveal many detailed structures including the retina cell layers, olfactory sensory neurons, barrel cortex, cortical layers, axonal fibers in white and gray matter. Olfactory glomerulus density is calculated and structural connectivity is traced in the optic nerve, striatal neurons, and brainstem nerves. The method is robust and can be readily applied on MRI scanners at or above 7T.
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
authors.forename: Hongjiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dibb
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Decker
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
authors.forename: Yuyao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
authors.forename: G Allan
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA. Electronic address: chunlei.liu@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Chunlei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Cytoarchitecuture; Mouse brain; Quantitative susceptibility mapping