A revised model for estimating g-ratio from MRI

A key measure of white matter health is the g-ratio, which is defined as the ratio between the inner axon radius and the outer, myelinated, axon radius. Recent methods have been proposed to measure the g-ratio non-invasively using the relationship between two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures. While this relationship is intuitive, it predicates on the simplifying assumption that g-ratio is constant across axons. Here, we extend the model to account for a distribution of g-ratio values within an imaging voxel, and evaluate this model with quantitative histology from normal and hypomyelinated mouse brains.

[1]  R. Friede,et al.  Combined scatter diagrams of sheath thickness and fibre calibre in human sural nerves: changes with age and neuropathy. , 1985, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[2]  Brian A. Wandell,et al.  Bound pool fractions complement diffusion measures to describe white matter micro and macrostructure , 2011, NeuroImage.

[3]  W. Rushton A theory of the effects of fibre size in medullated nerve , 1951, The Journal of physiology.

[4]  Christine Stadelmann,et al.  Extensive Cortical Remyelination in Patients with Chronic Multiple Sclerosis , 2007, Brain pathology.

[5]  Jennifer S. W. Campbell,et al.  Quantitative analysis of the myelin g-ratio from electron microscopy images of the macaque corpus callosum , 2015, Data in brief.

[6]  K Suzuki,et al.  Episodic demyelination and subsequent remyelination within the murine central nervous system: changes in axonal calibre , 2001, Neuropathology and applied neurobiology.

[7]  R. Fields,et al.  White matter in learning, cognition and psychiatric disorders , 2008, Trends in Neurosciences.

[8]  P. Basser,et al.  Axcaliber: A method for measuring axon diameter distribution from diffusion MRI , 2008, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[9]  K Suzuki,et al.  TNF alpha promotes proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitors and remyelination. , 2001, Nature neuroscience.

[10]  P. Basser,et al.  In vivo measurement of axon diameter distribution in the corpus callosum of rat brain. , 2009, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[11]  Y. Yovel,et al.  AxCaliber – A Method to Measure the Axon Diameter Distribution and Density in Neuronal Tissues , 2005 .

[12]  Roberto Toro,et al.  Could Sex Differences in White Matter be Explained by g ratio? , 2009, Front. Neuroanat..

[13]  T. Chomiak,et al.  What Is the Optimal Value of the g-Ratio for Myelinated Fibers in the Rat CNS? A Theoretical Approach , 2009, PloS one.

[14]  G J Little,et al.  Morphometric analysis of axons myelinated during adult life in the mouse superior cervical ganglion. , 1994, Journal of anatomy.

[15]  Francisco Aboitiz,et al.  Species Differences and Similarities in the Fine Structure of the Mammalian Corpus callosum , 2001, Brain, Behavior and Evolution.

[16]  M. Rydmark,et al.  Axon diameter and myelin sheath thickness in nerve fibres of the ventral spinal root of the seventh lumbar nerve of the adult and developing cat. , 1983, Journal of anatomy.

[17]  Robert P. Carson,et al.  Deletion of Rictor in neural progenitor cells reveals contributions of mTORC2 signaling to tuberous sclerosis complex. , 2013, Human molecular genetics.