@article{ref1,
title="White matter changes following experimental pediatric traumatic brain injury: an advanced diffusion-weighted imaging investigation",
journal="Brain imaging and behavior",
year="2021",
author="Semple, Bridgette D. and Johnston, Leigh A. and Kershaw, Jeff and O'Brien, Terence J. and Zamani, Akram and Wright, David K.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="Pediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) is a major community health concern. Due to ongoing maturation, injury to the brain at a young age can have devastating  consequences in later life. However, how pTBI affects brain development, including  white matter maturation, is still poorly understood. Here, we used advanced  diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) to assess chronic white matter changes after  experimental pTBI. Mice at post-natal day 21 sustained a TBI using the controlled  cortical impact model and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at 6 months  post-injury using a 4.7 T Bruker scanner. Four diffusion shells with 81 directions  and b-values of 1000, 3000, 5000, and 7000s/mm(2) were acquired and analyzed using  MRtrix3 software. Advanced DWI metrics, including fiber density, fiber cross-section  and a combined fiber density and cross-section measure, were investigated together  with three track-weighted images (TWI): the average pathlength map, mean curvature  and the track density image. These advanced metrics were compared to traditional  diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics which indicated that TBI injured mice had  reduced fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity in the white matter  when compared to age-matched sham controls. Consistent with previous findings, fiber  density and TWI metrics appeared to be more sensitive to white matter changes than  DTI metrics, revealing widespread reductions in fiber density and TWI metrics in  pTBI mice compared to sham controls. These results provide additional support for  the use of advanced DWI metrics in assessing white matter degeneration following  injury and highlight the chronic outcomes that can follow pTBI.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1931-7557",
doi="10.1007/s11682-020-00433-0",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11682-020-00433-0"
}