Faculty Collaboration Database

In vivo high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging of the developing neonatal rat cortex and its relationship to glial and dendritic maturation. Brain Struct Funct 2019 Jun;224(5):1815-1829

Date

04/24/2019

Pubmed ID

31011813

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6565480

DOI

10.1007/s00429-019-01878-w

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85064609350

Abstract

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is increasingly utilized as a sensitive tool for studying brain maturation and injuries during the neonatal period. In this study, we acquired high resolution in vivo DTI data from neonatal rat brains from postnatal day 2 (P2) to P10 and correlated temporal changes in DTI derived markers with microstructural organization of glia, axons, and dendrites during this critical period of brain development. Group average images showed dramatic temporal changes in brain morphology, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Most cortical regions showed a monotonous decline in FA and an initial increase in MD from P2 to P8 that declined slightly by P10. Qualitative histology revealed rapid maturation of the glial and dendritic networks in the developing cortex. In the cingulate and motor cortex, the decreases in FA over time significantly correlated with structural anisotropy values computed from histological sections stained with glial and dendritic markers. However, in the sensory and visual cortex, other factors probably contributed to the observed decreases in FA. We did not observe any significant correlations between FA and structural anisotropy computed from the axonal histological marker.

Author List

Breu M, Reisinger D, Tao L, Wu D, Zhang Y, Budde MD, Fatemi A, Pathak AP, Zhang J

Author

Matthew Budde PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Animals, Newborn
Anisotropy
Cerebral Cortex
Dendrites
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Neurogenesis
Neuroglia
Rats, Wistar