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Diffusion tensor imaging the medial longitudinal fasciculus in INO: opportunities and challenges
Author(s) -
Sakaie Ken,
Takahashi Masaya,
Dimitrov Ivan,
Togao Osamu,
Davis Scott,
Remington Gina,
Conger Amy,
Conger Darrel,
Frohman Teresa,
Fox Robert,
Frohman Elliot
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06156.x
Subject(s) - medial longitudinal fasciculus , tractography , diffusion mri , white matter , neuroscience , brainstem , oculomotor nerve , fasciculus , psychology , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , midbrain , central nervous system , fractional anisotropy
The medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) is a white matter pathway in the brainstem that plays a key role in coordinating eye movements. Injury to the MLF leads to abnormalities in eye movements that can be measured with high precision by oculography, making it an ideal eloquent pathway to study imaging/function correlates. Tractography is an emerging method for identifying white matter pathways and offers the tantalizing promise of noninvasive, quantitative characterization of tissue integrity underlying functional deficits. However, the small caliber of the MLF and partial volume averaging with signal from nearby cerebrospinal fluid pose severe technical challenges to tractography‐based delineation of the MLF. We discuss progress toward the goal of imaging the MLF and potential benefits of achieving this goal. Initial work suggests that ultra‐high field (7 tesla) may complement tractography for characterizing the MLF.