Search results for "Isotropy"
showing 10 items of 1099 documents
Correlation of brain white matter diffusion anisotropy and mean diffusivity with reaction time in an oddball task.
2008
<i>Background:</i> Reaction time (RT) is a frequently used measure of information processing speed, but the underlying physiological and anatomical conditions are not yet fully understood. A correlation between measures of white matter (WM) ultrastructural properties and RT is expected – particularly for those WM tracts that are involved in the attentional system of the brain. <i>Methods:</i> Diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired in 43 unrelated healthy subjects (age: 22.7 ± 1.8 years), and RT was measured during an attention-requiring visual oddball task in the same scanning session. Voxel-by-voxel and region of interest analyses were performed for the large a…
Increased cortical curvature reflects white matter atrophy in individual patients with early multiple sclerosis
2014
Objective White matter atrophy occurs independently of lesions in multiple sclerosis. In contrast to lesion detection, the quantitative assessment of white matter atrophy in individual patients has been regarded as a major challenge. We therefore tested the hypothesis that white matter atrophy (WMA) is present at the very beginning of multiple sclerosis (MS) and in virtually each individual patient. To find a new sensitive and robust marker for WMA we investigated the relationship between cortical surface area, white matter volume (WMV), and whole-brain-surface-averaged rectified cortical extrinsic curvature. Based on geometrical considerations we hypothesized that cortical curvature increa…
Ultrastructural Hippocampal and White Matter Alterations in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study
2003
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered to be a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), white matter structural pathology is due to Wallerian degeneration and central angiopathy. However, in MCI patients, the presence and extent of white matter alterations as a possible correlate of impaired memory function and as predictor of subsequent progression to AD is not clarified yet. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) reveals the ultrastructural integrity of cerebral white matter tracts. Therefore, it could detect pathological processes that modify tissue integrity in patients with MCI. In our prospective study, conventional and diffusion tensor MR scan…
Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Evaluate Microstructural Changes and Outcomes after Radiofrequency Rhizotomy of Trigeminal Nerves in Patients with …
2016
Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by facial pain that may be sudden, intense, and recurrent. Our aim was to investigate microstructural tissue changes of the trigeminal nerve in patients with trigeminal neuralgia resulting from neurovascular compression by diffusion tensor imaging, and to test the predictive value of diffusion tensor imaging for determining outcomes after radiofrequency rhizotomy. Forty-three patients with trigeminal neuralgia were recruited, and diffusion tensor imaging was performed before radiofrequency rhizotomy. By selecting the cisternal segment of the trigeminal nerve manually, we measured the volume of trigeminal nerve, fractional anisotropy, apparent diffusion …
Effects of bilingualism on white matter atrophy in mild cognitive impairment: a diffusion tensor imaging study
2020
Background and purpose Previous investigations show that bilinguals exhibit the first symptoms of dementia 4-5 years later than monolinguals. Therefore, bilingualism has been proposed as a cognitive reserve mechanism. Recent studies have advanced towards an understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying bilingualism's protection against dementia, but none of them deals with white matter (WM) diffusion. Methods In this study, the topic was investigated by measuring WM integrity in a sample of 35 bilinguals and 53 passive bilinguals with mild cognitive impairment. Results No significant differences were found between the groups in cognitive level, education, age or sex. However, bilinguals …
Functional relevant loss of long association fibre tracts integrity in early Alzheimer's disease.
2007
Abstract The aim of our study was to quantify the structural integrity of the long association fibre tracts in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to correlate the findings with the cognitive performance of the patients. We conducted region-of-interest-based analyses of color-coded diffusion-tensor imaging in 12 patients with early AD (age 69.8 ± 8.0 years; MMSE 25.3 ± 1.8) and 16 age- and education-matched healthy controls. Early AD patients showed significantly decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) of the cingulate bundles and the inferior fronto-occipital fascicles bilaterally, whereas FA values of the superior longitudinal fascicles (second division) did not differ significantly between p…
Cervical spondylotic myelopathy: Changes of fractional anisotropy in the spinal cord and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the primary motor cortex …
2019
Abstract Objective To determine the changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) at the proximal spinal cord and in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the precentral gyrus in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) with respect to clinical symptoms and their duration. Material and Methods 20 patients with CSM (7 female; mean age 64.6 ± 10.5 years) and 18 age/sex matched healthy controls (9 female; mean age 63.5 ± 6.6 years) were prospectively included. Clinical data (modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score (mJOA) and Neck Disability Index (NDI)) and 3T MR measurements including DTI at the spinal cord (level C2/3) with FA and MRS of the left and right precentral gyrus were…
Linking Microstructural Integrity and Motor Cortex Excitability in Multiple Sclerosis
2021
Motor skills are frequently impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients following grey and white matter damage with cortical excitability abnormalities. We applied advanced diffusion imaging with 3T magnetic resonance tomography for neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), as well as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 50 MS patients and 49 age-matched healthy controls to quantify microstructural integrity of the motor system. To assess excitability, we determined resting motor thresholds using non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation. As measures of cognitive-motor performance, we conducted neuropsychological assessments including the Nine-Hole Peg Test, Trail Makin…
Physical activity, aerobic fitness, and brain white matter : Their role for executive functions in adolescence
2020
Highlights • Aerobic fitness level, but not physical activity, is related to white matter properties in the brain. • The relation between physical activity and working memory is moderated by fractional anisotropy (FA) of the corpus callosum. • The FA of the corpus callosum and superior corona radiata moderates the relation between aerobic fitness and working memory.
First principles calculations of the vibrational properties of single and dimer F-type centers in corundum crystals
2020
The present paper investigates the F-type centers in α-Al2O3 through their electronic and vibrational properties from first principle calculations using a periodic supercell approach, a hybrid functional, and all-electron Gaussian basis sets as implemented in the CRYSTAL17 code. Single F-type and dimer F2-type centers related to oxygen vacancies in various charge states were considered. The defect-induced vibrational modes were identified and found to appear mainly in the low (up to 300 cm-1) and high (above 700 cm-1) frequency regions, depending on the defect charge. The perturbation introduced by the defects to the thermal nuclear motion in the crystal lattice is discussed in terms of ato…