Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

MR Diffusion Tensor Imaging: A Window into White Matter Integrity of the Working Brain

  • Review
  • Published:
Neuropsychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As Norman Geschwind asserted in 1965, syndromes resulting from white matter lesions could produce deficits in higher-order functions and “disconnexion” or the interruption of connection between gray matter regions could be as disruptive as trauma to those regions per se. The advent of in vivo diffusion tensor imaging, which allows quantitative characterization of white matter fiber integrity in health and disease, has served to strengthen Geschwind’s proposal. Here we present an overview of the principles of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and its contribution to progress in our current understanding of normal and pathological brain function.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abe, O., Aoki, S., Hayashi, N., Yamada, H., Kunimatsu, A., Mori, H., et al. (2002). Normal aging in the central nervous system: Quantitative MR diffusion-tensor analysis. Neurobiology of Aging, 23(3), 433–441.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aboitiz, F., Rodriguez, E., Olivares, R., & Zaidel, E. (1996). Age-related changes in fibre composition of the human corpus callosum: Sex differences. NeuroReport, 7(11), 1761–1764.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, A. L., Lee, J. E., Lazar, M., Boudos, R., DuBray, M. B., Oakes, T. R., et al. (2007). Diffusion tensor imaging of the corpus callosum in Autism. Neuroimage, 34(1), 61–73.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alling, C., & Bostrom, K. (1980). Demyelination of the mamillary bodies in alcoholism. A combined morphological and biochemical study. Acta Neuropathologica (Berl), 50, 77–80.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ardekani, S., Kumar, A., Bartzokis, G., & Sinha, U. (2007). Exploratory voxel-based analysis of diffusion indices and hemispheric asymmetry in normal aging. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 25(2), 154–167.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Asato, M. R., Terwilliger, R., Woo, J. & Luna, B. (in press). White matter development in adolescence: A DTI study. Cereb Cortex.

  • Badsberg-Jensen, G., & Pakkenberg, B. (1993). Do alcoholics drink their neurons away? Lancet, 342(8881), 1201–1204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnea-Goraly, N., Kwon, H., Menon, V., Eliez, S., Lotspeich, L., & Reiss, A. L. (2004). White matter structure in autism: Preliminary evidence from diffusion tensor imaging. Biological Psychiatry, 55(3), 323–326.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Basser, P. J. (1995). Inferring microstructural features and the physiological state of tissues from diffusion-weighted images. NMR in Biomedicine, 8(7–8), 333–344.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Basser, P. J., & Jones, D. K. (2002). Diffusion-tensor MRI: Theory, experimental design and data analysis—a technical review. NMR in Biomedicine, 15(7–8), 456–467.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Basser, P. J., & Pierpaoli, C. (1996). Microstructural and physiological features of tissues elucidated by quantitative diffusion tensor MRI. Journal of Magnetic Resonance. Series B, 111, 209–219.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bendlin, B. B., Ries, M. L., Lazar, M., Alexander, A. L., Dempsey, R. J., Rowley, H. A., et al. (2008). Longitudinal changes in patients with traumatic brain injury assessed with diffusion-tensor and volumetric imaging. Neuroimage, 42(2), 503–514.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blatter, D. D., Bigler, E. D., Gale, S. D., Johnson, S. C., Anderson, C., Burnett, B. M., et al. (1995). Quantitative volumetric analysis of brain MRI: Normative database spanning five decades of life. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 16(2), 241–245.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bokde, A. L., Ewers, M., & Hampel, H. (2009). Assessing neuronal networks: Understanding Alzheimer’s disease. Progress in Neurobiology, 89(2), 125–133.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bozzali, M., Franceschi, M., Falini, A., Pontesilli, S., Cercignani, M., Magnani, G., et al. (2001). Quantification of tissue damage in AD using diffusion tensor and magnetization transfer MRI. Neurology, 57(6), 1135–1137.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bozzali, M., Falini, A., Franceschi, M., Cercignani, M., Zuffi, M., Scotti, G., et al. (2002). White matter damage in Alzheimer’s disease assessed in vivo using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 72(6), 742–746.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buchsbaum, M. S., Tang, C. Y., Peled, S., Gudbjartsson, H., Lu, D., Hazlett, E. A., et al. (1998). MRI white matter diffusion anisotropy and PET metabolic rate in schizophrenia. NeuroReport, 9(3), 425–430.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bucur, B., Madden, D. J., Spaniol, J., Provenzale, J. M., Cabeza, R., White, L. E., et al. (2008). Age-related slowing of memory retrieval: Contributions of perceptual speed and cerebral white matter integrity. Neurobiology of Aging, 29(7), 1070–1079.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carbon, M., Bates, J., Bilder, R. M., & Lim, K. O. (2003). Microstructural white matter changes as correlates of impaired performance in jirst episode schizophrenia (abs). Schizophrenia Research, 60(1), 191S.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, J. C., Lanham, D. C., Cutting, L. E., Clements-Stephens, A. M., Chen, X., Hadzipasic, M., et al. (2009). A dual DTI approach to analyzing white matter in children with dyslexia. Psychiatry Research, 172(3), 215–219.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catani, M., & ffytche, D. H. (2005). The rises and falls of disconnection syndromes. Brain, 128(Pt 10), 2224–2239.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catani, M., & Mesulam, M. (2008a). What is a disconnection syndrome? Cortex, 44(8), 911–913.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catani, M., & Mesulam, M. (2008b). The arcuate fasciculus and the disconnection theme in language and aphasia: History and current state. Cortex, 44(8), 953–961.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catani, M., & Thiebaut de Schotten, M. (2008). A diffusion tensor imaging tractography atlas for virtual in vivo dissections. Cortex, 44(8), 1105–1132.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catani, M., Jones, D. K., Daly, E., Embiricos, N., Deeley, Q., Pugliese, L., et al. (2008). Altered cerebellar feedback projections in Asperger syndrome. Neuroimage, 41(4), 1184–1191.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, L., & Ernst, T. (1997). MR spectroscopy and diffusion-weighted MR imaging in focal brain lesions in AIDS. Neuroimaging Clinics of North America, 7(3), 409–426.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, L., Wong, V., Nakama, H., Watters, M., Ramones, D., Miller, E. N., et al. (2008). Greater than age-related changes in brain diffusion of HIV patients after 1 year. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 3(4), 265–274.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chanraud, S., Leroy, C., Martelli, C., Kostogianni, N., Delain, F., Aubin, H. J., et al. (2009). Episodic memory in detoxified alcoholics: Contribution of grey matter microstructure alteration. PLoS ONE, 4(8), e6786.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chanraud, S., Reynaud, M., Wessa, M., Penttila, J., Kostogianni, N., Cachia, A., et al. (2009). Diffusion tensor tractography in mesencephalic bundles: Relation to mental flexibility in detoxified alcohol-dependent subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(5), 1223–1232.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Charlton, R. A., Schiavone, F., Barrick, T. R., Morris, R. G., & Markus, H. S. (2010). Diffusion tensor imaging detects age related white matter change over a 2 year follow-up which is associated with working memory decline. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 81(1), 13–19.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., An, H., Zhu, H., Stone, T., Smith, J. K., Hall, C., et al. (2009). White matter abnormalities revealed by diffusion tensor imaging in non-demented and demented HIV + patients. Neuroimage, 47(4), 1154–1162.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, Y., Chou, K. H., Chen, I. Y., Fan, Y. T., Decety, J., & Lin, C. P. (2010). Atypical development of white matter microstructure in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Neuroimage, 50(3), 873–882.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chepuri, N. B., Yen, Y. F., Burdette, J. H., Li, H., Moody, D. M., & Maldjian, J. A. (2002). Diffusion anisotropy in the corpus callosum. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 23(5), 803–808.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chien, D., Buxton, R. B., Kwong, K. K., Brady, T. J., & Rosen, B. R. (1990). MR diffusion imaging of the human brain. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 14(4), 514–520.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chua, T. C., Wen, W., Chen, X., Kochan, N., Slavin, M. J., Trollor, J. N., et al. (2009). Diffusion tensor imaging of the posterior cingulate is a useful biomarker of mild cognitive impairment. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(7), 602–613.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chun, T., Filippi, C. G., Zimmerman, R. D., & Ulug, A. M. (2000). Diffusion changes in the aging human brain. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 21(6), 1078–1083.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Correia, S., Lee, S. Y., Voorn, T., Tate, D. F., Paul, R. H., Zhang, S., et al. (2008). Quantitative tractography metrics of white matter integrity in diffusion-tensor MRI. Neuroimage, 42(2), 568–581.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. W., Dennis, N. A., Buchler, N. G., White, L. E., Madden, D. J., & Cabeza, R. (2009). Assessing the effects of age on long white matter tracts using diffusion tensor tractography. Neuroimage, 46(2), 530–541.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De la Monte, S. M. (1988). Disproportionate atrophy of cerebral white matter in chronic alcoholics. Archives of Neurology, 45, 990–992.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Demonet, J. F., Taylor, M. J., & Chaix, Y. (2004). Developmental dyslexia. Lancet, 363(9419), 1451–1460.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Di Martino, A., Ross, K., Uddin, L. Q., Sklar, A. B., Castellanos, F. X., & Milham, M. P. (2009). Functional brain correlates of social and nonsocial processes in autism spectrum disorders: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Biological Psychiatry, 65(1), 63–74.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Douaud, G., Smith, S., Jenkinson, M., Behrens, T., Johansen-Berg, H., Vickers, J., et al. (2007). Anatomically related grey and white matter abnormalities in adolescent-onset schizophrenia. Brain, 130(Pt 9), 2375–2386.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duan, J. H., Wang, H. Q., Xu, J., Lin, X., Chen, S. Q., Kang, Z., et al. (2006). White matter damage of patients with Alzheimer’s disease correlated with the decreased cognitive function. Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy, 28(2), 150–156.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, J., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Soares, C., Cointepas, Y., Le Bihan, D., & Hertz-Pannier, L. (2008). Microstructural correlates of infant functional development: Example of the visual pathways. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(8), 1943–1948.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eluvathingal, T. J., Hasan, K. M., Kramer, L., Fletcher, J. M., & Ewing-Cobbs, L. (2007). Quantitative diffusion tensor tractography of association and projection fibers in normally developing children and adolescents. Cerebral Cortex, 17(12), 2760–2768.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Engelter, S. T., Provenzale, J. M., Petrella, J. R., DeLong, D. M., & MacFall, J. R. (2000). The effect of aging on the apparent diffusion coefficient of normal-appearing white matter. American Journal of Roentgenology, 175(2), 425–430.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estruch, R., Nicolas, J. M., Salamero, M., Aragon, C., Sacanella, E., Fernandez-Sola, J., et al. (1997). Atrophy of the corpus callosum in chronic alcoholism. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 146(2), 145–151.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Falangola, M. F., Jensen, J. H., Babb, J. S., Hu, C., Castellanos, F. X., Di Martino, A., et al. (2008). Age-related non-Gaussian diffusion patterns in the prefrontal brain. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 28(6), 1345–1350.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fellgiebel, A., Schermuly, I., Gerhard, A., Keller, I., Albrecht, J., Weibrich, C., et al. (2008). Functional relevant loss of long association fibre tracts integrity in early Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychologia, 46(6), 1698–1706.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Filippi, M., & Rocca, M. A. (2008). Multiple sclerosis and allied white matter diseases. Neurological Sciences, 29(Suppl 3), 319–322.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Filippi, C. G., Ulug, A. M., Ryan, E., Ferrando, S. J., & van Gorp, W. (2001). Diffusion tensor imaging of patients with HIV and normal-appearing white matter on MR images of the brain. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 22(2), 277–283.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fillard, P. & Gerig, G. (2003) Analysis Tool For Diffusion Tensor MRI. In Proceedings of Medical Image Computing and Computer-assisted Intervention, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, p 967-8. Springer, Saint-Malo, France.

  • Fletcher, P. T., Tao, R., Jeong, W. K., & Whitaker, R. T. (2007). A volumetric approach to quantifying region-to-region white matter connectivity in diffusion tensor MRI. Information Processing in Medical Imaging, 20, 346–358.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, P. T., Whitaker, R. T., Tao, R., Dubray, M. B., Froehlich, A., Ravichandran, C. et al. (in press). Microstructural connectivity of the arcuate fasciculus in adolescents with high-functioning autism. Neuroimage.

  • Frith, U. (2001). Mind blindness and the brain in autism. Neuron, 32(6), 969–979.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geschwind, N. (1965a). Disconnexion syndromes in animals and man. I. Brain, 88, 237–294.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geschwind, N. (1965b). Disconnexion syndromes in animals and man. II. Brain, 88, 585–644.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilliam, J. E. (1995) Gilliam Autism Rating Scales: Austin,TX: Pro-Ed.

  • Giorgio, A., Watkins, K. E., Douaud, G., James, A. C., James, S., De Stefano, N., et al. (2008). Changes in white matter microstructure during adolescence. Neuroimage, 39(1), 52–61.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Giorgio, A., Watkins, K. E., Chadwick, M., James, S., Winmill, L., Douaud, G., et al. (2010). Longitudinal changes in grey and white matter during adolescence. Neuroimage, 49(1), 94–103.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Good, C. D., Johnsrude, I. S., Ashburner, J., Henson, R. N., Friston, K. J., & Frackowiak, R. S. (2001). A voxel-based morphometric study of ageing in 465 normal adult brains. Neuroimage, 14, 21–36.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodlett, C. B., Fletcher, P. T., Gilmore, J. H., & Gerig, G. (2009). Group analysis of DTI fiber tract statistics with application to neurodevelopment. Neuroimage, 45(1 Suppl), S133–S142.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grieve, S. M., Williams, L. M., Paul, R. H., Clark, C. R., & Gordon, E. (2007). Cognitive aging, executive function, and fractional anisotropy: A diffusion tensor MR imaging study. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 28(2), 226–235.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanstock, C. C., Faden, A. I., Bendall, M. R., & Vink, R. (1994). Diffusion-weighted imaging differentiates ischemic tissue from traumatized tissue. Stroke, 25(4), 843–848.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanyu, H., Sakurai, H., Iwamoto, T., Takasaki, M., Shindo, H., & Abe, K. (1998). Diffusion-weighted MR imaging of the hippocampus and temporal white matter in Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 156(2), 195–200.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, C. (1998). The neuropathology of alcohol-specific brain damage, or does alcohol damage the brain? Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, 57(2), 101–110.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, C., & Kril, J. J. (1989). Patterns of neuronal loss in the cerebral cortex in chronic alcoholic patients. Journal of Neurological Science, 92, 81–89.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, C. G., Kril, J. J., & Holloway, R. L. (1985). Brain shrinkage in chronic alcoholics: A pathological study. British Medical Journal, 290, 501–504.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, C. G., Kril, J. J., & Daly, J. M. (1987). Are we drinking our neurones away? British Medical Journal, 294, 534–536.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hasan, K. M., Sankar, A., Halphen, C., Kramer, L. A., Brandt, M. E., Juranek, J., et al. (2007). Development and organization of the human brain tissue compartments across the lifespan using diffusion tensor imaging. NeuroReport, 18(16), 1735–1739.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hasan, K. M., Ewing-Cobbs, L., Kramer, L. A., Fletcher, J. M., & Narayana, P. A. (2008). Diffusion tensor quantification of the macrostructure and microstructure of human midsagittal corpus callosum across the lifespan. NMR in Biomedicine, 21(10), 1094–1101.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haznedar, M. M., Buchsbaum, M. S., Wei, T. C., Hof, P. R., Cartwright, C., Bienstock, C. A., et al. (2000). Limbic circuitry in patients with autism spectrum disorders studied with positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(12), 1994–2001.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Head, D., Buckner, R. L., Shimony, J. S., Williams, L. E., Akbudak, E., Conturo, T. E., et al. (2004). Differential vulnerability of anterior white matter in nondemented aging with minimal acceleration in dementia of the Alzheimer type: Evidence from diffusion tensor imaging. Cerebral Cortex, 14(4), 410–423.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helenius, J., Soinne, L., Perkio, J., Salonen, O., Kangasmaki, A., Kaste, M., et al. (2002). Diffusion-weighted MR imaging in normal human brains in various age groups. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 23(2), 194–199.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hommer, D. W., Momenan, R., Kaiser, E., & Rawlings, R. R. (2001). Evidence for a gender-related effect of alcoholism on brain volumes. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(2), 198–204.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoptman, M. J., Volavka, J., Johnson, G., Weiss, E., Bilder, R. M., & Lim, K. O. (2002). Frontal white matter microstructure, aggression, and impulsivity in men with schizophrenia: A preliminary study. Biological Psychiatry, 52(1), 9–14.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, J. L., Leemans, A., Bai, C. H., Lee, C. H., Tsai, Y. F., Chiu, H. C., et al. (2008). Gender differences and age-related white matter changes of the human brain: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Neuroimage, 39(2), 566–577.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, B., Ye, B., Yang, Y., Zhu, K., Kang, Z., Kuang, S. et al. (in press). Quantitative diffusion tensor deterministic and probabilistic fiber tractography in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. European Journal of Radiology.

  • Huisman, T. A., Sorensen, A. G., Hergan, K., Gonzalez, R. G., & Schaefer, P. W. (2003). Diffusion-weighted imaging for the evaluation of diffuse axonal injury in closed head injury. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 27(1), 5–11.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jernigan, T. L., Archibald, S. L., Fennema-Notestine, C., Gamst, A. C., Stout, J. C., Bonner, J., et al. (2001). Effects of age on tissues and regions of the cerebrum and cerebellum. Neurobiology of Aging, 22(4), 581–594.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D. K. (2008). Studying connections in the living human brain with diffusion MRI. Cortex, 44(8), 936–952.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D., Simmons, A., Williams, S., & Horsfield, M. (1999). Non-invasive assessment of axonal fiber connectivity in the human brain via diffusion tensor MRI. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 42, 37–41.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kantarci, K., Jack, C. R., Jr., Xu, Y. C., Campeau, N. G., O’Brien, P. C., Smith, G. E., et al. (2001). Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: Regional diffusivity of water. Radiology, 219(1), 101–107.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kemper, T. L. (1994). Neuroanatomical and neuropathological changes during aging and dementia. In M. L. Albert & J. E. Knoefel (Eds.), Clinical Neurology of Aging (2nd ed., pp. 3–67). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinhans, N. M., Richards, T., Sterling, L., Stegbauer, K. C., Mahurin, R., Johnson, L. C., et al. (2008). Abnormal functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorders during face processing. Brain, 131(Pt 4), 1000–1012.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klingberg, T., Vaidya, C. J., Gabrieli, J. D., Moseley, M. E., & Hedehus, M. (1999). Myelination and organization of the frontal white matter in children: A diffusion tensor MRI study. NeuroReport, 10(13), 2817–2821.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kril, J. J., Halliday, G. M., Svoboda, M. D., & Cartwright, H. (1997). The cerebral cortex is damaged in chronic alcoholics. Neuroscience, 79(4), 983–998.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubicki, M., Westin, C. F., Maier, S. E., Frumin, M., Nestor, P. G., Salisbury, D. F., et al. (2002). Uncinate fasciculus findings in schizophrenia: A magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(5), 813–820.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, A., Sundaram, S. K., Sivaswamy, L., Behen, M. E., Makki, M. I., Ager, J. et al. (in press). Alterations in frontal lobe tracts and corpus callosum in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Cerebral Cortex.

  • Le Bihan, D. (2003). Looking into the functional architecture of the brain with diffusion MRI. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 4(6), 469–480.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Le Bihan, D. (2007). The ‘wet mind’: Water and functional neuroimaging. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 52(7), R57–R90.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Le Bihan, D., Mangin, J., Poupon, C., Clark, C., Pappata, S., Molko, N., et al. (2001). Diffusion tensor imaging: Concepts and applications. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 13(4), 534–546.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lebel, C., Walker, L., Leemans, A., Phillips, L., & Beaulieu, C. (2008). Microstructural maturation of the human brain from childhood to adulthood. Neuroimage, 40(3), 1044–1055.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, H. S. (1993). Head trauma. Current Opinion in Neurology, 6(6), 841–846.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levine, B., Black, S. E., Cabeza, R., Sinden, M., McIntosh, A. R., Toth, J. P., et al. (1998). Episodic memory and the self in a case of isolated retrograde amnesia. Brain, 121(Pt 10), 1951–1973.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, H. S., Wilde, E. A., Chu, Z., Yallampalli, R., Hanten, G. R., Li, X., et al. (2008). Diffusion tensor imaging in relation to cognitive and functional outcome of traumatic brain injury in children. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 23(4), 197–208.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, F., Yu, C., Jiang, T., Li, K., & Chan, P. (2007). Diffusion tensor tractography-based group mapping of the pyramidal tract in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 28(2), 278–282.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liston, C., Watts, R., Tottenham, N., Davidson, M. C., Niogi, S., Ulug, A. M., et al. (2006). Frontostriatal microstructure modulates efficient recruitment of cognitive control. Cerebral Cortex, 16(4), 553–560.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Little, D. M., Kraus, M. F., Joseph, J., Geary, E. K., Susmaras, T., Zhou, X. J., et al. (2010). Thalamic integrity underlies executive dysfunction in traumatic brain injury. Neurology, 74(7), 558–564.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luna, B., Garver, K. E., Urban, T. A., Lazar, N. A., & Sweeney, J. A. (2004). Maturation of cognitive processes from late childhood to adulthood. Child Development, 75(5), 1357–1372.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mabbott, D. J., Rovet, J., Noseworthy, M. D., Smith, M. L., & Rockel, C. (2009). The relations between white matter and declarative memory in older children and adolescents. Brain Research, 1294, 80–90.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, D. J., Whiting, W. L., Huettel, S. A., White, L. E., MacFall, J. R., & Provenzale, J. M. (2004). Diffusion tensor imaging of adult age differences in cerebral white matter: Relation to response time. Neuroimage, 21(3), 1174–1181.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, D. J., Spaniol, J., Whiting, W. L., Bucur, B., Provenzale, J. M., Cabeza, R., et al. (2007). Adult age differences in the functional neuroanatomy of visual attention: a combined fMRI and DTI study. Neurobiology of Aging, 28(3), 459–476.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, D. J., Spaniol, J., Costello, M. C., Bucur, B., White, L. E., Cabeza, R., et al. (2009). Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(2), 289–302.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malloy, P., Correia, S., Stebbins, G., & Laidlaw, D. H. (2007). Neuroimaging of white matter in aging and dementia. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 21(1), 73–109.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marner, L., Nyengaard, J. R., Tang, Y., & Pakkenberg, B. (2003). Marked loss of myelinated nerve fibers in the human brain with age. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 462(2), 144–152.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masliah, E., DeTeresa, R. M., Mallory, M. E., & Hansen, L. A. (2000). Changes in pathological findings at autopsy in AIDS cases for the last 15 years. Aids, 14(1), 69–74.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, A. R., Ling, J., Mannell, M. V., Gasparovic, C., Phillips, J. P., Doezema, D., et al. (2010). A prospective diffusion tensor imaging study in mild traumatic brain injury. Neurology, 74(8), 643–650.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McQueeny, T., Schweinsburg, B. C., Schweinsburg, A. D., Jacobus, J., Bava, S., Frank, L. R., et al. (2009). Altered white matter integrity in adolescent binge drinkers. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 33(7), 1278–1285.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meier-Ruge, W., Ulrich, J., Bruhlmann, M., & Meier, E. (1992). Age-related white matter atrophy in the human brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 673, 260–269.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo, R., & Leisman, G. (2009). Autistic spectrum disorders as functional disconnection syndrome. Reviews in the Neurosciences, 20(2), 111–131.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mori, S., Wakana, S., Nagae-Poetscher, L. M., & Van Zijl, P. M. C. (2005). MRI atlas of human white matter. Amsterdam: Elsevier B.V.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naganawa, S., Sato, K., Katagiri, T., Mimura, T., & Ishigaki, T. (2003). Regional ADC values of the normal brain: Differences due to age, gender, and laterality. European Radiology, 13(1), 6–11.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nierenberg, J., Hoptman, M. J., Choi, S. J., Butler, P. D., Ardekani, B. A., Revheim, N., et al. (2003). Abnormal white matter integrity in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder revealed by diffusion tensor imaging (abs). Schizophrenia Research, 60(1), 203S.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nusbaum, A. O., Tang, C. Y., Buchsbaum, M. S., Wei, T. C., & Atlas, S. W. (2001). Regional and global changes in cerebral diffusion with normal aging. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 22(1), 136–142.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okugawa, G., Nobuhara, K., Minami, T., Takase, K., Sugimoto, T., Saito, Y., et al. (2006). Neural disorganization in the superior cerebellar peduncle and cognitive abnormality in patients with schizophrenia: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 30(8), 1408–1412.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olesen, P. J., Nagy, Z., Westerberg, H., & Klingberg, T. (2003). Combined analysis of DTI and fMRI data reveals a joint maturation of white and grey matter in a fronto-parietal network. Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research, 18(1), 48–57.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Sullivan, M., Jones, D., Summers, P., Morris, R., Williams, S., & Markus, H. (2001). Evidence for cortical “disconnection” as a mechanism of age-related cognitive decline. Neurology, 57, 632–638.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Sullivan, M., Summers, P. E., Jones, D. K., Jarosz, J. M., Williams, S. C., & Markus, H. S. (2001). Normal-appearing white matter in ischemic leukoaraiosis: A diffusion tensor MRI study. Neurology, 57(12), 2307–2310.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ota, M., Obata, T., Akine, Y., Ito, H., Ikehira, H., Asada, T., et al. (2006). Age-related degeneration of corpus callosum measured with diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroimage, 31(4), 1445–1452.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pagani, E., Filippi, M., Rocca, M. A., & Horsfield, M. A. (2005). A method for obtaining tract-specific diffusion tensor MRI measurements in the presence of disease: Application to patients with clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis. Neuroimage, 26(1), 258–265.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R., Cohen, R., Navia, B., & Tashima, K. (2002). Relationships between cognition and structural neuroimaging findings in adults with human immunodeficiency virus type-1. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 26(3), 353–359.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paus, T., Keshavan, M., & Giedd, J. N. (2008). Why do many psychiatric disorders emerge during adolescence? Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 9(12), 947–957.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perez-Iglesias, R., Tordesillas-Gutierrez, D., McGuire, P. K., Barker, G. J., Roiz-Santianez, R., Mata, I. et al. (2010). White Matter Integrity and Cognitive Impairment in First-Episode Psychosis. Am J Psychiatry, 167(4), 451–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, A., & Sethares, C. (2002). Aging and the myelinated fibers in prefrontal cortex and corpus callosum of the monkey. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 442(3), 277–291.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., & Sullivan, E. V. (2003). Increased brain white matter diffusivity in normal adult aging: Relationship to anisotropy and partial voluming. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 49, 953–961.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., & Sullivan, E. V. (2010). Diffusion MR imaging in neuropsychiatry and aging. In: Gilliard, J. H., Waldman, A. D., Barker, P. B. (eds). Clinical MR Neuroimaging: Physiological and Functional Techniques, 2nd edn, (593–617). Cambridge University Press.

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Lim, K. O., Zipursky, R. B., Mathalon, D. H., Rosenbloom, M. J., Lane, B., et al. (1992). Brain gray and white matter volume loss accelerates with aging in chronic alcoholics: A quantitative MRI study. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 16(6), 1078–1089.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Mathalon, D. H., Sullivan, E. V., Rawles, J. M., Zipursky, R. B., & Lim, K. O. (1994). A quantitative magnetic resonance imaging study of changes in brain morphology from infancy to late adulthood. Archives of Neurology, 51, 874–887.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Lim, K. O., Desmond, J. E., & Sullivan, E. V. (1996). Thinning of the corpus callosum in older alcoholic men: A magnetic resonance imaging study. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 20(4), 752–757.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Sullivan, E. V., Mathalon, D. H., & Lim, K. O. (1997). Frontal lobe volume loss observed with magnetic resonance imaging in older chronic alcoholics. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 21(3), 521–529.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Sullivan, E. V., Hedehus, M., Adalsteinsson, E., Lim, K. O., & Moseley, M. (2000a). In vivo detection and functional correlates of white matter microstructural disruption in chronic alcoholism. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 24(8), 1214–1221.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Sullivan, E. V., Hedehus, M., Lim, K. O., Adalsteinsson, E., & Moseley, M. (2000b). Age-related decline in brain white matter anisotropy measured with spatially corrected echo-planar diffusion tensor imaging. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 44(2), 259–268.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Rosenbloom, M. J., & Sullivan, E. V. (2002). Alcoholism and AIDS: Magnetic Resonance imaging approaches for detecting interactive neuropathology. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(7), 1031–1046.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Adalsteinsson, E., & Sullivan, E. V. (2005). Frontal circuitry degradation marks healthy adult aging: Evidence from diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroimage, 26(3), 891–899.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Adalsteinsson, E., & Sullivan, E. V. (2006). Dysmorphology and microstructural degradation of the corpus callosum: Interaction of age and alcoholism. Neurobiology of Aging, 27(7), 994–1009.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Rosenbloom, M. J., Adalsteinsson, E., & Sullivan, E. V. (2007). Diffusion tensor imaging with quantitative fiber tracking in HIV infection and alcoholism comorbidity: Synergistic white matter damage. Brain, 130, 48–64.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Rosenbloom, M., Rohlfing, T., & Sullivan, E. V. (2009). Degradation of association and projection white matter systems in alcoholism detected with quantitative fiber tracking. Biological Psychiatry, 65(8), 680–690.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Rosenbloom, M. J., Rohlfing, T., Kemper, C. A., Deresinski, S., & Sullivan, E. V. (2009). Frontostriatal fiber bundle compromise in HIV infection without dementia. Aids, 23(15), 1977–1985.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfefferbaum, A., Rosenbloom, M. J., Fama, R., Sassoon, S. A. & Sullivan, E. V. (2010). Transcallosal white matter degradation detected with quantitative fiber tracking in alcoholic men and women: Selective relations to dissociable functions. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 34(7).

  • Phillips, O. R., Nuechterlein, K. H., Clark, K. A., Hamilton, L. S., Asarnow, R. F., Hageman, N. S., et al. (2009). Fiber tractography reveals disruption of temporal lobe white matter tracts in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 107(1), 30–38.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pierpaoli, C., & Basser, P. J. (1996). Towards a quantitative assessment of diffusion anisotropy. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 36, 893–906.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pierpaoli, C., Jezzard, P., Basser, P. J., Barnett, A., & Di Chiro, G. (1996). Diffusion tensor MR imaging of the human brain. Radiology, 201(3), 637–648.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pierpaoli, C., Barnett, A., Pajevic, S., Chen, R., Penix, L., Virta, A., et al. (2001). Water diffusion changes in Wallerian degeneration and their dependence on white matter architecture. Neuroimage, 13, 1174–1185.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pomara, N., Crandall, D. T., Choi, S. J., Johnson, G., & Lim, K. O. (2001). White matter abnormalities in HIV-1 infection: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Psychiatry Research, 106, 15–24.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poupon, C., Mangin, J., Clark, C. A., Frouin, V., Régis, J., Le Bihan, D., et al. (2001). Towards inference of human brain connectivity from MR diffusion tensor data. Medical Image Analysis, 5(1), 1–15

  • Pugliese, L., Catani, M., Ameis, S., Dell’Acqua, F., Thiebaut de Schotten, M., Murphy, C., et al. (2009). The anatomy of extended limbic pathways in Asperger syndrome: A preliminary diffusion tensor imaging tractography study. Neuroimage, 47(2), 427–434.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raz, N., Gunning, F. M., Head, D., Dupuis, J. H., McQuain, J., Briggs, S. D., et al. (1997). Selective aging of the human cerebral cortex observed in vivo: Differential vulnerability of the prefrontal gray matter. Cerebral Cortex, 7(3), 268–282.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raz, N., Lindenberger, U., Rodrigue, K. M., Kennedy, K. M., Head, D., Williamson, A., et al. (2005). Regional brain changes in aging healthy adults: General trends, individual differences and modifiers. Cerebral Cortex, 15(11), 1676–1689.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Regier, D. A., Narrow, W. E., Rae, D. S., Manderscheid, R. W., Locke, B. Z., & Goodwin, F. K. (1993). The de facto US mental and addictive disorders service system. Epidemiologic catchment area prospective 1-year prevalence rates of disorders and services. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50(2), 85–94.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, S. E., Chen, F., Chalk, J. B., Zelaya, F. O., Strugnell, W. E., Benson, M., et al. (2000). Loss of connectivity in Alzheimer’s disease: An evaluation of white matter tract integrity with colour coded MR diffusion tensor imaging. Journal of Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 69(4), 528–530.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, J., Mirmiran, M., Butler, E. E., Lin, C. Y., Barnes, P. D., Kermoian, R., et al. (2007). Neonatal microstructural development of the internal capsule on diffusion tensor imaging correlates with severity of gait and motor deficits. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 49(10), 745–750.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbloom, M. J., Sassoon, S. A., Fama, R., Sullivan, E. V., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2008). Frontal callosal fiber integrity selectively predicts coordinated psychomotor performance in chronic alcoholism. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2(2), 74–83.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rovaris, M., Bozzali, M., Iannucci, G., Ghezzi, A., Caputo, D., Montanari, E., et al. (2002). Assessment of normal-appearing white and gray matter in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis: A diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging study. Archives of Neurology, 59(9), 1406–1412.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rovaris, M., Gass, A., Bammer, R., Hickman, S. J., Ciccarelli, O., Miller, D. H., et al. (2005). Diffusion MRI in multiple sclerosis. Neurology, 65(10), 1526–1532.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salat, D. H., Tuch, D. S., Greve, D. N., van der Kouwe, A. J. W., Hevelone, N. D., Zaleta, A. K., et al. (2005). Age-related alterations in white matter microstructure measured by diffusion tensor imaging. Neurobiology of Aging, 26, 1215–1227.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmond, C. H., Menon, D. K., Chatfield, D. A., Williams, G. B., Pena, A., Sahakian, B. J., et al. (2006). Diffusion tensor imaging in chronic head injury survivors: Correlations with learning and memory indices. Neuroimage, 29(1), 117–124.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saur, D., Kreher, B. W., Schnell, S., Kummerer, D., Kellmeyer, P., Vry, M. S., et al. (2008). Ventral and dorsal pathways for language. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(46), 18035–18040.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer, P. W., Gonzalez, R. G., Hunter, G., Wang, B., Koroshetz, W. J., & Schwamm, L. H. (2001). Diagnostic value of apparent diffusion coefficient hyperintensity in selected patients with acute neurologic deficits. Journal of Neuroimaging, 11(4), 369–380.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schiavone, F., Charlton, R. A., Barrick, T. R., Morris, R. G., & Markus, H. S. (2009). Imaging age-related cognitive decline: A comparison of diffusion tensor and magnetization transfer MRI. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 29(1), 23–30.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmithorst, V. J., Wilke, M., Dardzinski, B. J., & Holland, S. K. (2002). Correlation of white matter diffusivity and anisotropy with age during childhood and adolescence: A cross-sectional diffusion-tensor MR imaging study. Radiology, 222(1), 212–218.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shenkin, S. D., Bastin, M. E., MacGillivray, T. J., Deary, I. J., Starr, J. M., & Wardlaw, J. M. (2003). Childhood and current cognitive function in healthy 80-year-olds: A DT-MRI study. NeuroReport, 14(3), 345–349.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shergill, S. S., Kanaan, R. A., Chitnis, X. A., O’Daly, O., Jones, D. K., Frangou, S., et al. (2007). A diffusion tensor imaging study of fasciculi in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(3), 467–473.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, B. V., Jr., Asarnow, R., Tanguay, P., Call, J. D., Abel, L., Ho, A., et al. (1992). Regional cerebral glucose metabolism and attention in adults with a history of childhood autism. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 4(4), 406–414.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. M., Jenkinson, M., Johansen-Berg, H., Rueckert, D., Nichols, T. E., Mackay, C. E., et al. (2006). Tract-based spatial statistics: Voxelwise analysis of multi-subject diffusion data. Neuroimage, 31(4), 1487–1505.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snook, L., Paulson, L. A., Roy, D., Phillips, L., & Beaulieu, C. (2005). Diffusion tensor imaging of neurodevelopment in children and young adults. Neuroimage, 26(4), 1164–1173.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snook, L., Plewes, C., & Beaulieu, C. (2007). Voxel based versus region of interest analysis in diffusion tensor imaging of neurodevelopment. Neuroimage, 34(1), 243–252.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Song, S. K., Sun, S. W., Ramsbottom, M. J., Chang, C., Russell, J., & Cross, A. H. (2002). Dysmyelination revealed through MRI as increased radial (but unchanged axial) diffusion of water. Neuroimage, 17(3), 1429–1436.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spear, L. P. (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 24(4), 417–463.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spielman, D., Butts, K., de Crespigny, A., & Moseley, M. (1996). Diffusion-weighted imaging of clinical stroke. International Journal of Neuroradiology, 1, 44–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spoletini, I., Cherubini, A., Banfi, G., Rubino, I. A., Peran, P., Caltagirone, C. et al. (in press). Hippocampi, Thalami, and Accumbens Microstructural Damage in Schizophrenia: A volumetry, diffusivity, and neuropsychological study. Schizophrenia Bulletin.

  • Stadlbauer, A., Salomonowitz, E., Strunk, G., Hammen, T., & Ganslandt, O. (2008). Age-related degradation in the central nervous system: Assessment with diffusion-tensor imaging and quantitative fiber tracking. Radiology, 247(1), 179–188.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins, G. T., Smith, C. A., Bartt, R. E., Kessler, H. A., Adeyemi, O. M., Martin, E., et al. (2007). HIV-associated alterations in normal-appearing white matter: A voxel-wise diffusion tensor imaging study. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 46(5), 564–573.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, E. V., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2005). Neurocircuitry in alcoholism: A substrate of disruption and repair. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 180(4), 583–594.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, E. V. & Pfefferbaum, A. (2010). Diffusion in ageing and age-related neurodegenerative disorders. In: Jones, D. K, (ed.), Diffusion MRI: Theory, methods and applications. Oxford University Press. ISBN:9780195369779.

  • Sullivan, E. V., Adalsteinsson, E., Hedehus, M., Ju, C., Moseley, M., Lim, K. O., et al. (2001). Equivalent disruption of regional white matter microstructure in aging healthy men and women. NeuroReport, 12(22), 99–104.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, E. V., Adalsteinsson, E., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2006). Selective age-related degradation of anterior callosal fiber bundles quantified in vivo with fiber tracking. Cerebral Cortex, 16(7), 1030–1039.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, E. V., Rohlfing, T., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2010a). Quantitative fiber tracking of lateral and interhemispheric white matter systems in normal aging: Relations to timed performance. Neurobiology of Aging, 31(3), 464–481.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, E. V., Rohlfing, T. & Pfefferbaum, A. (2010b). Longitudinal study of callosal microstructure in the normal adult aging brain using quantitative DTI fiber tracking. Developmental Neuropsychology.

  • Sun, S. W., Liang, H. F., Le, T. Q., Armstrong, R. C., Cross, A. H., & Song, S. K. (2006). Differential sensitivity of in vivo and ex vivo diffusion tensor imaging to evolving optic nerve injury in mice with retinal ischemia. Neuroimage, 32(3), 1195–1204.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sydykova, D., Stahl, R., Dietrich, O., Ewers, M., Reiser, M. F., Schoenberg, S. O., et al. (2007). Fiber connections between the cerebral cortex and the corpus callosum in Alzheimer’s disease: A diffusion tensor imaging and voxel-based morphometry study. Cerebral Cortex, 17(10), 2276–2282.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi, T., Muruta, T., Omori, M., Kosaka, H., Takahashi, K., Yonekura, Y., et al. (2004) Quantitative evaluation of age-related white matter microstructural changes on MRI by multifractal analysis. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 225, 33–37.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi, S., Yonezawa, H., Takahashi, J., Kudo, M., Inoue, T., & Tohgi, H. (2002). Selective reduction of diffusion anisotropy in white matter of Alzheimer disease brains measured by 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroscience Letters, 332(1), 45–48.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teipel, S. J., Stahl, R., Dietrich, O., Schoenberg, S. O., Perneczky, R., Bokde, A. L., et al. (2007). Multivariate network analysis of fiber tract integrity in Alzheimer’s disease. Neuroimage, 34(3), 985–995.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thurnher, M. M., Castillo, M., Stadler, A., Rieger, A., Schmid, B., & Sundgren, P. C. (2005). Diffusion-tensor MR imaging of the brain in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients. AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 26(9), 2275–2281.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trillo-Pazos, G., & Everall, I. P. (1997). From human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of the brain to dementia. Genitourinary Medicine, 73(5), 343–347.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turken, A., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Bammer, R., Baldo, J. V., Dronkers, N. F., & Gabrieli, J. D. (2008). Cognitive processing speed and the structure of white matter pathways: Convergent evidence from normal variation and lesion studies. Neuroimage, 42(2), 1032–1044.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ulug, A. M., Filippi, C. G., Ruyan, E., Ferrando, S. J., & Van Gorp, W. (2000). Utility of DWI, tensor imaging, and MR spectroscopy in HIV patients with normal brain MR scans (abs). Proceeding of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 8, 1200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Virta, A., Barnett, A., & Pierpaoli, C. (1999). Visualizing and characterizing white matter fiber structure and architecture in the human pyramidal tract using diffusion tensor MR. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 17(8), 1121–1133.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waxman, S. G., Kocsis, J. D., & Stys, P. K. (1995). The Axon: Structure. New York: Function and Pathophysiology Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westlye, L. T., Walhovd, K. B., Dale, A. M., Bjornerud, A., Due-Tonnessen, P., Engvig, A. et al. (in press). Life-Span changes of the human brain white matter: Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Volumetry. Cereb Cortex.

  • Wilson, M., Tench, C. R., Morgan, P. S., & Blumhardt, L. D. (2003). Pyramidal tract mapping by diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging in multiple sclerosis: Improving correlations with disability. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 74(2), 203–207.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiser, A. K., Andreasen, N. C., O’Leary, D. S., Watkins, G. L., Boles Ponto, L. L., & Hichwa, R. D. (1998). Dysfunctional cortico-cerebellar circuits cause ‘cognitive dysmetria’ in schizophrenia. NeuroReport, 9(8), 1895–1899.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolkin, A., Choi, S. J., Szilagyi, S., Sanfilipo, M., Rotrosen, J. P., & Lim, K. O. (2003). Inferior frontal white matter anisotropy and negative symptoms of schizophrenia: A diffusion tensor imaging study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(3), 572–574.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, Y., Storey, P., Cohen, B. A., Epstein, L. G., Edelman, R. R., & Ragin, A. B. (2006). Diffusion alterations in corpus callosum of patients with HIV. AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 27(3), 656–660.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, S., Xiao, J. X., Gong, G. L., Zang, Y. F., Wang, Y. H., Wu, H. K., et al. (2006). Voxel-based detection of white matter abnormalities in mild Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 66(12), 1845–1849.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, B., Shim, Y. S., Lee, K. S., Shon, Y. M., & Yang, D. W. (2008). Region-specific changes of cerebral white matter during normal aging: A diffusion-tensor analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 47(1), 129–138.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zahr, N. M., Rohlfing, T., Pfefferbaum, A., & Sullivan, E. V. (2009). Problem solving, working memory, and motor correlates of association and commissural fiber bundles in normal aging: A quantitative fiber tracking study. Neuroimage, 44(3), 1050–1062.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., Schuff, N., Jahng, G. H., Bayne, W., Mori, S., Schad, L., et al. (2007). Diffusion tensor imaging of cingulum fibers in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 68(1), 13–19.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zilbovicius, M., Meresse, I., Chabane, N., Brunelle, F., Samson, Y., & Boddaert, N. (2006). Autism, the superior temporal sulcus and social perception. Trends in Neurosciences, 29(7), 359–366.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Disclosure and Acknowledgments

All authors were involved in drafting the article or revising it critically, and they read and approved the final version of the manuscript. None of the authors has any involvement, financial or otherwise, that might potentially bias their work.

Support for this work was obtained from NIAAA grants AA012388, AA010723, AA017168, AA017923 and NIA grant AG019717.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edith V. Sullivan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chanraud, S., Zahr, N., Sullivan, E.V. et al. MR Diffusion Tensor Imaging: A Window into White Matter Integrity of the Working Brain. Neuropsychol Rev 20, 209–225 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-010-9129-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-010-9129-7

Keywords

Navigation