Automatic segmentation of thalamic nuclei from diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging

The nuclei of the thalamus have traditionally been delineated by their distinct cyto/myeloarchitectural appearance on histology. Here, we show that diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) can noninvasively resolve the major thalamic nuclei based on the characteristic fiber orientation of the corticothalamic/thalamocortical striations within each nucleus. Using an automatic clustering algorithm, we extracted the Talairach coordinates for the individual thalamic nuclei. The center-of-mass coordinates for the segmented nuclei were found to agree strongly with those obtained from a histological atlas. The ability to resolve thalamic nuclei with DTI will allow for morphometric analysis of specific nuclei and improved anatomical localization of functional activation in the thalamus.

[1]  M. A. O'Neil,et al.  The connectional organization of the cortico-thalamic system of the cat. , 1999, Cerebral cortex.

[2]  V. Wedeen,et al.  Fiber crossing in human brain depicted with diffusion tensor MR imaging. , 2000, Radiology.

[3]  A. D. de Crespigny,et al.  Compromised white matter tract integrity in schizophrenia inferred from diffusion tensor imaging. , 1999, Archives of general psychiatry.

[4]  J. Growdon,et al.  Neuropathological distinction between Parkinson's dementia and Parkinson's plus Alzheimer's disease , 1989, Annals of neurology.

[5]  C. L. Kwan,et al.  Functional MRI study of thalamic and cortical activations evoked by cutaneous heat, cold, and tactile stimuli. , 1998, Journal of neurophysiology.

[6]  R S Kahn,et al.  Partial volume decrease of the thalamus in relatives of patients with schizophrenia. , 1998, The American journal of psychiatry.

[7]  A. Snyder,et al.  Normal brain in human newborns: apparent diffusion coefficient and diffusion anisotropy measured by using diffusion tensor MR imaging. , 1998, Radiology.

[8]  P. Vuilleumier,et al.  Functional neuroanatomical correlates of hysterical sensorimotor loss. , 2001, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[9]  S C Williams,et al.  Non‐invasive assessment of axonal fiber connectivity in the human brain via diffusion tensor MRI , 1999, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[10]  C F Hazlewood,et al.  Nuclear magnetic resonance measurement of skeletal muscle: anisotrophy of the diffusion coefficient of the intracellular water. , 1976, Biophysical journal.

[11]  S. Maier,et al.  Microstructural Development of Human Newborn Cerebral White Matter Assessed in Vivo by Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging , 1998, Pediatric Research.

[12]  T. Yoshimoto,et al.  Stereotactic gamma-thalamotomy with a computerized brain atlas: technical case report. , 1994, Neurosurgery.

[13]  PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF ANATOMICALLY VERIFIED THALAMIC LESIONS IN PARKINSONIANS , 1971, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[14]  E G Jones,et al.  Thalamic and brainstem contributions to large-scale plasticity of primate somatosensory cortex. , 1998, Science.

[15]  Wieslaw L. Nowinski,et al.  Anatomical Targeting in Functional Neurosurgery by the Simultaneous Use of Multiple Schaltenbrand-Wahren Brain Atlas Microseries , 1999, Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.

[16]  J. A. Hartigan,et al.  A k-means clustering algorithm , 1979 .

[17]  Katya Rubia,et al.  An fMRI study of reduced left prefrontal activation in schizophrenia during normal inhibitory function , 2001, Schizophrenia Research.

[18]  Thomas H. McNeill,et al.  Atrophy of medium spiny I striatal dendrites in advanced Parkinson's disease , 1988, Brain Research.

[19]  P. Basser,et al.  The b matrix in diffusion tensor echo‐planar imaging , 1997, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[20]  Van J. Wedeen,et al.  Automatic identification of thalamic nuclei from DTI , 2000, NeuroImage.

[21]  P. Basser,et al.  Microstructural and physiological features of tissues elucidated by quantitative-diffusion-tensor MRI. , 1996, Journal of magnetic resonance. Series B.

[22]  P. Basser,et al.  Toward a quantitative assessment of diffusion anisotropy , 1996, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[23]  O. Combarros,et al.  Ageusia associated with thalamic plaque in multiple sclerosis. , 1994, European neurology.

[24]  C. Nicholson,et al.  Anisotropic and heterogeneous diffusion in the turtle cerebellum: implications for volume transmission. , 1993, Journal of neurophysiology.

[25]  K. Niemann,et al.  One Atlas – Three Anatomies: Relationships of the Schaltenbrand and Wahren Microscopic Data , 1999, Acta Neurochirurgica.

[26]  E. Spiegel.  Atlas d'anatomie stéréotaxique (anatomic stereotaxic atlas) , 1958 .

[27]  P. Basser,et al.  MR diffusion tensor spectroscopy and imaging. , 1994, Biophysical journal.

[28]  Maurice K. Wong,et al.  Algorithm AS136: A k-means clustering algorithm. , 1979 .

[29]  E K Perry,et al.  Nerve cell loss in the thalamus in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. , 1991, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[30]  A L Törnqvist,et al.  Neurosurgery for Movement Disorders , 2001, The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.

[31]  Heekuck Oh,et al.  Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition , 1993, Adv. Comput..

[32]  James C. Ehrhardt,et al.  Visualization of Subthalamic Nuclei with Cortex Attenuated Inversion Recovery MR Imaging , 2000, NeuroImage.

[33]  Christian Gaser,et al.  Decreased frontal activation in schizophrenics during stimulation with the Continuous Performance Test - a functional magnetic resonance imaging study , 1999, European Psychiatry.

[34]  J. Kucharczyk,et al.  Identification of “Premyelination” by Diffusion‐Weighted MRI , 1995, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[35]  M. Blinkenberg,et al.  Cortical cerebral metabolism correlates with MRI lesion load and cognitive dysfunction in MS , 2000, Neurology.

[36]  Taisuke Otsuki,et al.  Stereotactic γ-Thalamotomy with a Computerized Brain Atlas , 1994 .

[37]  A. Snyder,et al.  Quantitative diffusion-tensor anisotropy brain MR imaging: normative human data and anatomic analysis. , 1999, Radiology.

[38]  J. Talairach,et al.  Atlas d'anatomie stéréotaxique : repérage radiologique indirect des noyaux gris centraux des régions mésencéphalo-sous-optique et hypothalamique de l'homme , 1957 .

[39]  K K Kwong,et al.  Anisotropy of water diffusion in the myocardium of the rat. , 1994, Circulation research.

[40]  Scott T. Grafton,et al.  Medication Related Changes in Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Parkinson's Disease , 1998, NeuroImage.

[41]  Y Tamagawa,et al.  Adult and neonatal human brain: diffusional anisotropy and myelination with diffusion-weighted MR imaging. , 1991, Radiology.

[42]  Ron Kikinis,et al.  Volumetric Evaluation of the Thalamus in Schizophrenic Male Patients Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging , 1998, Biological Psychiatry.

[43]  R. Kikinis,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging shows orientation and asymmetry of white matter fiber tracts , 1998, Brain Research.

[44]  R. Dinsmore,et al.  Imaging myocardial fiber architecture in vivo with magnetic resonance , 1995, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[45]  T. Ogawa,et al.  Secondary thalamic degeneration after cerebral infarction in the middle cerebral artery distribution: evaluation with MR imaging. , 1997, Radiology.

[46]  M. D. M. S. P. D. J. M. Van Buren A. B.,et al.  Variations and Connections of the Human Thalamus , 1972, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[47]  R R Tasker,et al.  Computerized tomography (CT) is just as accurate as ventriculography for functional stereotactic thalamotomy. , 1991, Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery.

[48]  P. Basser,et al.  Diffusion tensor MR imaging of the human brain. , 1996, Radiology.

[49]  K. Niemann,et al.  The Morel Stereotactic Atlas of the Human Thalamus: Atlas-to-MR Registration of Internally Consistent Canonical Model , 2000, NeuroImage.

[50]  E. Cabanis,et al.  The Human Brain: Surface, Three-Dimensional Sectional Anatomy and Mri , 1991 .

[51]  AC Evans,et al.  Automatic volume estimation of gross cerebral structures † † Supported by the U.S. Human Brain Map Project and the International Consortium for Brain Mapping. , 1998, NeuroImage.

[52]  A. Morel,et al.  Multiarchitectonic and stereotactic atlas of the human thalamus , 1997, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[53]  Alan C. Evans,et al.  Enhancement of MR Images Using Registration for Signal Averaging , 1998, Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography.

[54]  C. Pierpaoli,et al.  Visualizing and characterizing white matter fiber structure and architecture in the human pyramidal tract using diffusion tensor MRI. , 1999, Magnetic resonance imaging.

[55]  T Nakagawa,et al.  MR assessment of normal brain development in neonates and infants: comparative study of T1- and diffusion-weighted images. , 1997, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[56]  T. L. Davis,et al.  Morphometry of in vivo human white matter association pathways with diffusion‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging , 1997, Annals of neurology.

[57]  J R Smith,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging and anatomic atlas mapping for thalamotomy. , 1992, Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery.

[58]  E. Syková,et al.  Evolution of anisotropic diffusion in the developing rat corpus callosum. , 1997, Journal of neurophysiology.

[59]  S. Rauch,et al.  Probing striato-thalamic function in obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome using neuroimaging methods. , 2001, Advances in neurology.

[60]  N. Alpert,et al.  Abnormalities in the thalamus and prefrontal cortex during episodic object recognition in schizophrenia , 2000, Biological Psychiatry.

[61]  J V Hajnal,et al.  MR imaging of anisotropically restricted diffusion in the brain of neonates and infants. , 1991, Journal of computer assisted tomography.