Probing Mouse Brain Microstructure Using Oscillating Gradient Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging

High resolution diffusion tensor images of the mouse brain were acquired using the pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE) sequence and the oscillating gradient spin echo (OGSE) sequence. The OGSE tensor images demonstrated frequency-dependent changes in diffusion measurements, including apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA), in major brain structures. Maps of the rate of change in ADC with oscillating gradient frequency revealed novel tissue contrast in the mouse hippocampus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. The observed frequency-dependent contrasts resembled neuronal soma-specific Nissl staining and nucleispecific DAPI staining in the mouse brain, which suggests that the contrasts might be related to key features of cytoarchitecture in the brain. In the mouse cuprizone model, OGSE-based diffusion MRI revealed significantly higher frequency-dependence of perpendicular diffusivity (λ┴) in the demyelinated caudal corpus callosum at 4 weeks after cuprizone treatment, compared to control mice and mice at 6 weeks after cuprizone treatment. The elevated frequencydependence of λ┴ coincided with the infiltration of activated microglia/macrophages and disruption of axons during acute demyelination in the caudal corpus callosum. The results demonstrate the potential of OGSE-based diffusion MRI for providing tissue contrasts complimentary to conventional PGSE-based diffusion MRI.

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