Schilling Kurt G, Palombo Marco, Witt Atlee A, O'Grady Kristin P, Pizzolato Marco, Landman Bennett A, Smith Seth A
Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.
Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.
Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2025 Aug 19;3. doi: 10.1162/IMAG.a.111. eCollection 2025.
The central nervous system (CNS), comprising both the brain and spinal cord, is a complex network of white and gray matter responsible for sensory, motor, and cognitive functions. Advanced diffusion MRI (dMRI) techniques offer a promising mechanism to non-invasively characterize CNS architecture, however, most studies focus on the brain or spinal cord in isolation. Here, we implemented a clinically feasible dMRI protocol on a 3T scanner to simultaneously characterize neurite and soma microstructure of both the brain and spinal cord. The protocol enabled the use of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Standard Model Imaging (SMI), and Soma and Neurite Density Imaging (SANDI), representing the first time SMI and SANDI have been evaluated in the cord, and in the cord and brain simultaneously. Our results demonstrate high image quality even at high diffusion weightings, reproducibility of SMI- and SANDI-derived metrics similar to those of DTI with few exceptions, and biologically feasible contrasts between and within white and gray matter regions. Reproducibility and contrasts were decreased in the cord compared with that of the brain, revealing challenges due to partial volume effects and image preprocessing. This study establishes a harmonized approach for brain and cord microstructural imaging, and the opportunity to study CNS pathologies and biomarkers of structural integrity across the neuroaxis.
中枢神经系统(CNS)由脑和脊髓组成,是一个由白质和灰质构成的复杂网络,负责感觉、运动和认知功能。先进的扩散磁共振成像(dMRI)技术为非侵入性地表征中枢神经系统结构提供了一种很有前景的机制,然而,大多数研究都孤立地关注脑或脊髓。在这里,我们在一台3T扫描仪上实施了一种临床可行的dMRI方案,以同时表征脑和脊髓的神经突和胞体微观结构。该方案能够使用扩散张量成像(DTI)、标准模型成像(SMI)和胞体与神经突密度成像(SANDI),这是首次在脊髓中以及同时在脊髓和脑中对SMI和SANDI进行评估。我们的结果表明,即使在高扩散权重下,图像质量也很高,SMI和SANDI衍生指标的可重复性与DTI相似,只有少数例外,并且白质和灰质区域之间以及内部在生物学上具有可行的对比。与脑相比,脊髓中的可重复性和对比度有所降低,这揭示了由于部分容积效应和图像预处理带来的挑战。本研究建立了一种用于脑和脊髓微观结构成像的统一方法,以及研究整个神经轴上中枢神经系统病理学和结构完整性生物标志物的机会。
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