Cerebral Microcirculation Unit, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1065, USA.
J Neurosci Methods. 2009 Dec 15;185(1):15-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2009.08.022. Epub 2009 Sep 6.
Myeloarchitecture, the pattern of myelin density across the cerebral cortex, has long been visualized in histological sections to identify distinct anatomical areas of the cortex. In humans, two-dimensional (2D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to visualize myeloarchitecture in select areas of the cortex, such as the stripe of Gennari in the primary visual cortex and Heschl's gyrus in the primary auditory cortex. Here, we investigated the use of MRI contrast based on longitudinal relaxation time (T(1)) to visualize myeloarchitecture in vivo over the entire cortex of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a small non-human primate that is becoming increasingly important in neuroscience and neurobiology research. Using quantitative T(1) mapping, we found that T(1) at 7T in a cortical region with a high myelin content was 15% shorter than T(1) in a region with a low myelin content. To maximize this T(1) contrast for imaging cortical myelination patterns, we optimized a magnetization-prepared rapidly acquired gradient echo (MP-RAGE) sequence. In whole-brain, 3D T(1)-weighted images made in vivo with the sequence, we identified six major cortical areas with high myelination and confirmed the results with histological sections stained for myelin. We also identified several subtle features of myeloarchitecture, showing the sensitivity of our technique. The ability to image myeloarchitecture over the entire cortex may prove useful in studies of longitudinal changes of the topography of the cortex associated with development and neuronal plasticity, as well as for guiding and confirming the location of functional measurements.
脑白质构筑,即大脑皮层髓鞘密度的模式,长期以来一直通过组织学切片进行可视化,以识别皮层的不同解剖区域。在人类中,二维(2D)磁共振成像(MRI)已被用于可视化皮层特定区域的髓鞘构筑,例如初级视觉皮层中的 Gennari 条纹和初级听觉皮层中的 Heschl 回。在这里,我们研究了基于纵向弛豫时间(T1)的 MRI 对比在活体中可视化普通狨猴(Callithrix jacchus)整个皮层髓鞘构筑的用途,普通狨猴是一种小型非人类灵长类动物,在神经科学和神经生物学研究中变得越来越重要。使用定量 T1 映射,我们发现高髓鞘含量的皮层区域的 T1 在 7T 下比低髓鞘含量的区域短 15%。为了最大限度地提高这种用于成像皮质髓鞘模式的 T1 对比,我们优化了一种磁化准备快速获取梯度回波(MP-RAGE)序列。在使用该序列进行的全脑、3D T1 加权活体图像中,我们确定了六个具有高髓鞘的主要皮层区域,并通过对髓鞘染色的组织学切片证实了这一结果。我们还识别出了髓鞘构筑的几个细微特征,显示了我们技术的敏感性。在整个皮层上进行髓鞘构筑成像的能力可能在研究与发育和神经元可塑性相关的皮层拓扑学的纵向变化以及指导和确认功能测量的位置方面非常有用。