Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

The 42nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology

Topics Seminar IV:
Recent advancements in MR functional analysis

Tsutomu Nakada, M. D. , Ph. D.

Department of Integrated Neuroscience Brain Research Institute, University of Niigata

Recent advancements in magnetic resonance (MR) technology have revolutionized not only structural but also functional imaging. It is now possible to perform detailed analysis of all aspects of brain function non-invasively. From the neurological standpoint, analysis of gray matter can be categorized into (1) functional mapping and (2) neuron density measurement. Similarly, analysis of white matter can be categorized into (1) tract mapping and (2) axonal physiology. Corresponding techniques in MR imaging are functional MRI (fMRI), MR neuronography (MRN), MR tractography (MRT), and MR axonography (MRX). While fMRI is a T2* contrast based technique, the rest of the techniques are based on diffusion tensor analysis (DTA).

(CLINICA NEUROL, 41: 1207|1209, 2001)
key words: fMRI, diffusion tensor analysis, neuron, axon

(Received: 12-May-01)