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Magnetic Resonance Techniques for Imaging White Matter

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Oligodendrocytes

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1936))

Abstract

The white matter is a complex network of brain fibers connecting different information processing regions in the brain. In recent years, the investigation of white matter in humans and in animal models has greatly benefitted from the introduction of in vivo noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. MRI allows for multiple in vivo time-point whole-brain acquisition in the same subject, thus it can be used longitudinally to monitor white matter brain change, intervention effects, as well as disease progression. However, MRI has low spatial resolution compared to gold standard cellular techniques and MRI measures are sensitive to a number of tissue properties resulting in a lack of specificity.

The following chapter describes in simple technical terms to non-imaging experts some common MRI techniques that can be used to investigate white matter structure noninvasively, covering some of the advantages and pitfalls of each technique.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NDCN Department, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Cassandra Sampaio-Baptista, Kata Diosi & Heidi Johansen-Berg

Authors
  1. Cassandra Sampaio-Baptista
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  2. Kata Diosi
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  3. Heidi Johansen-Berg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cassandra Sampaio-Baptista .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    David A. Lyons

  2. Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Linde Kegel

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Sampaio-Baptista, C., Diosi, K., Johansen-Berg, H. (2019). Magnetic Resonance Techniques for Imaging White Matter. In: Lyons, D., Kegel, L. (eds) Oligodendrocytes. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1936. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9072-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9072-6_22

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9070-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9072-6

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