Looking into the Functional Architecture of the Brain with Diffusion MRI

Le Bihan, D. (June 2003). Looking into the Functional Architecture of the Brain with Diffusion MRI. Nature Reviews, Vol 4, 469-480.

Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) is an exciting new addition to non-invasive neuroscience imaging, providing a view of anatomical connectivity in the brain based on the principle of molecular diffusion. Diffusion of water molecules in the direction of axonal myelinated fibres is about three to six times faster than in the perpendicular direction. In applying this maxim to detailed MRI measures of water displacement, it is possible to map the orientation in space of the white matter tracks in the brain. Utilizing the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique provides even more exquisite detail on tissue microstructure. Information about the structural and dynamic wiring that determines how brain areas are networked has particular applicability to the study neurological and psychiatric disorders in which connectivity dysfunction is thought to be part of the underlying etiology.