The diffusion, MR spectroscopy, perfusion, permeability of brain tumors are now widely used in the research and clinical settings. In the clinical setting, quantitative and qualitative approaches are being applied in practice, but there are several pitfalls with all of these approaches. Understanding and applying the different imaging techniques in a multiparametric algorithmic fashion in the clinical and research settings can be shown to increase diagnostic specificity and confidence.

Dewen Yang^1
1Medical and Scientific Affairs, ICON Medical Imaging, Warrington, PA, United States

The evaluation of treatment in high-grade gliomas frequently relies on the radiographic response rate or progression-free survival. Neuroradiologists and neuro-oncologists do not use Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria as part of their daily clinical practice. This can cause variability of understanding and application of the criteria, even misinterpret for disease progression and leads to discordance between central and local assessments for multicenter trials. Therefore, it is critical for trial clinicians and radiologists to understand the essentials of this standard approach. In this educational e-poster, the essential RANO guidelines, summarize important rules and discuss common pitfalls along with imaging examples were reviewed.

Mungunkhuyag Majigsuren¹, Takashi Abe¹, Kenji Matsuzaki¹, Mayumi Takeuchi¹, Seiji Iwamoto¹, Yoichi Otomi¹, Naoto Uyama¹, Teruyoshi Kageji², Shinji Nagahiro², and Masafumi Harada^1
1Department of Radiology, Institute of Health Biosciences,The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan, ²Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Health Biosciences,The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan

T1-CUBE is a technique for fast spin-echo based MRI with variable flip angle. This study is to compare the enhancement of brain tumors between T1-CUBE and 3DFSPGR at 3T MRI. We measured the contrast ratio which is the signal intensity (SI) of a tumor and normalized by SI of the white matter for each sequences. The contrast enhancement of tumors by T1-CUBE is higher than by 3DFSPGR, especially in the small tumors, the enhancement by T1-CUBE is prominent than that in the large tumors.T1-CUBE is considered to be useful to pick up the small tumor lesions screening for brain metastasis.

Siriwan Piyapittayanan¹, Orasa Chawalparit¹, and Pornsuk Cheunsuchon^2
1Radiology, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkoknoi, Bangkok, Thailand, ²Pathology, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkoknoi, Bangkok, Thailand

Purpose: To review characteristic imaging features of the CNS lymphoma spectrum disorders on conventional and advanced imaging Outline of content: Malignant CNS lymphoma - Primary CNS lymphoma - Intravascular lymphoma - Lymphomatosis cerebri - Metastatic lymphoma - MALT lymphoma Premalignant lymphomatoid conditions - Lymphomatoid granulomatosis - Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder Summary: Lymphoid neoplasms are wide range of imaging presentation, pathology and one of the great mimickers.

Nils Daniel Forkert¹, Heiko Schmiedeskamp¹, Jalal B. Andre², Reena P. Thomas³, Seema Nagpal³, Lawrence Recht³, Nancy Fischbein¹, and Roland Bammer^1
1Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, ²Department of Radiology, University of Washington, WA, United States,³Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, CA, United States

Blood-brain-barrier disruptions may result in contrast agent leakage into the extravascular space, which may hinder a correct determination of perfusion parameters from DSC perfusion-weighted imaging. Considering that brain tumors may not only recruit enlarged, angiogenic vessels, but also smaller microvessels, determining the leakage effect in spin-echo PWI images may lead to additional benefits compared to gradient-echo leakage determination. A first analysis of 10 tumor patient datasets, including a gradient- and spin-echo sequence, revealed very high correlation between the leakage parameters while more pronounced leakage patterns can be found visually in some tumor regions using leakage determination in spin-echo images.

Xiaohua Hong^1,2, Meiyun Wang¹, Kai Ding³, Bo Ma¹, Antonella Mangraviti⁴, Betty Tyler⁴, and Jinyuan Zhou^1
1Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China, ³Department of Radiation Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

We applied several functional and molecular MRI modalities to U87MG tumor-bearing rats that were treated with radiation therapy (40 Gy or 20 Gy). Our results show that tumor ADC, blood flow, and APT were all useful imaging biomarkers by which to predict glioma response to radiotherapy. The APT signal was most promising for early response assessment in this model.

Olivier E Mougin¹, Fotis Savvopoulos², Ismail Ughratdar³, Henryk Faas², Richard Grundy⁴, Penny A Gowland¹, and Dorothee P Auer^2
1SPMMRC, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ²Radiological and Imaging Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ³Departement of Neurosurgery, NUH, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ⁴CBTRC, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

A semiquantitative method for separately assessing NOE and APT contributions to the z-spectrum in gliomas is presented. Data were acquired at ultra high field which provides increased sensitivity to APT, NOE and MT, and increased SNR which allows a full z-spectrum to be acquired with good spatial resolution in a reasonable imaging time.

Gaurav Verma¹, Suyash Mohan¹, Steven Brem², Michael Albert Thomas³, and Harish Poptani^1
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States,³Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Two-dimensional (2D) localized correlated spectroscopy (L-COSY) at 7T offers additional spectral separation than is available with conventional sequences or at lower fields. This additional separation could facilitate the unambiguous quantification of ethanolamine, phosphocholine (PC), glycerophosphocholine (GPC), phosphoethanolamine (PE), glycerophosphoethanolamine (GPE) and lactate – metabolites whose presence has shown correlation with tumor. 2D L-COSY was acquired in two patients with low-grade gliomas. Resulting spectra showed clearly-defined cross peaks lactate and choline-containing compounds. L-COSY could have clinical utility in detecting biochemical changes in brain tumor and potentially resolving high and low grade tumor and healthy tissue.

Vasileios K. Katsaros^1,2, Sotirios Bisdas³, Agapi Katsarou¹, Evangelia Liouta¹, Laurent Hermoye⁴, and George Stranjalis^1
1University of Athens, Athens, Athens, Greece, ²Anti-Cancer Oncology Hospital “St. Savvas”, Athens, Athens, Greece, ³Department of Neuroradiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, ⁴Imagilys, Brussels, Belgium

Advanced MRI and fMRI and DTI in pre-surgical planning and intraoperative guidance by means of neuronavigation

Maddalena Strumia^1,2, Wilfried Reichardt^1,2, Irina Mader³, Jüergen Hennig², and Michael Bock^2
1Deutsches Konsortium für translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany, ²Department of Radiology Medical Physics, University Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany, ³Department of Neuroradiologie, University Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany

The glioblastoma is one of the most malignant and aggressive tumors of the white brain matter, and it expressing vascular endothelial grow factors (VEGF) to initiate and maintain angiogenesis. To assess whether a novel therapeutic drug inhibits neo-angiogenesis, non-invasive imaging methods to study changes of the neo-angiogenic vasculature are urgently needed. In this work we propose new post-processing strategies to quantify the structure of the pathological vessels in glioblastomas using TOF-MRA data. The approach has been applied on 9 glioblastoma patients and showed high discriminability between tumor vessels and normal brain vasculature.

Franziska Loebel^1,2, Leo L. Cheng^2,3, Emily A. Decelle^2,3, Andrew S. Chi⁴, Daniel P. Cahill¹, and Ovidiu C. Andronesi^2
1Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ²Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ³Department of Radiopathology, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

The present study aimed at identifying metabolomic predictors of malignancy in IDH-mutant gliomas, using ex-vivo High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-HRMAS-MRS). Our results suggest that high-grade IDH-mutant gliomas show distinct metabolomic differences compared to low-grade cases. 1H-HRMAS-MRS has clinical applicability, yieldieng the potential to distinguish more aggressive and malignant IDH-mutant gliomas from indolent low-grade tumors.

Ra Gyoung Yoon¹, Ho Sung Kim², Choong Gon Choi², and Sang Jun Kim^2
1Radiology, Asan medical center, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, ²Asan medical center, Seoul, Korea

We performed this study to determine if enlarging contrast-enhancing lesion (CEL) with similar tumor microenvironment (TM) in patients with posttreatment glioblastoma, can be labeled by clustering methods to differentiate between recurrent glioblastoma (RGM) and radiation necrosis (RN). The tumor clustering method including four distinct clusters (tumor cluster, radiation change cluster, necrosis cluster, edema cluster) was performed on DSC, DCE, and DW MR imagings of 84 patients with pathologically proven RGM or RN. We have demonstrated that tumor clustering of clinical MR imaging data is feasible. Moreover, the volume fraction of tumor cluster was associated with the possibility of RGM.

Ulrich Pilatus¹, Veronika Völker¹, Oliver Bähr², Johannes Rieger², Stella Blasel¹, Joachim Steinbach², and Elke Hattingen^1
1Institute of Neuroradiology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, ²Dr. Senckenbergisches Institut für Neuroonkologie, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany

31P MR-spectroscopic imaging reveals increased intracellular pH values in recurrent glioblastomas. Antiangiogenic treatment causes a normalization of the pH value, which is reverted upon new tumor progression during the treatment.

Masaki Katsura^1,2, Yuichi Suzuki², Junichi Hata², Hiroki Sasaki¹, Harushi Mori¹, Akira Kunimatsu¹, Jian Xu³, Katsuya Maruyama⁴, and Kuni Ohtomo^1
1Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, ²Radiology, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, ³Siemens Healthcare USA, New York, United States, ⁴Siemens Healthcare Japan, Tokyo, Japan

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) characterizes non-Gaussian water diffusion behavior. The principal metric derived from DKI is mean kurtosis (Kmean), which is thought to be an index of microstructural complexity. In the current study on clinical cases with brain tumors, Kmean did not change significantly after administration of gadolinium-based contrast material. Our results indicate that DKI can be repeated after gadolinium-enhanced MR studies. Therefore, when motion is detected on the initial DK scan or when repeated DKI images with different imaging techniques are needed, they can be performed after gadolinium-enhanced imaging without a significant change in Kmean.

Seung Hong Choi¹ and Tae Jin Yun^1
1Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, ., Korea

To assess the ability of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MR imaging to discriminate true progression from pseudoprogression in glioblastoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Yiping Lu¹, Bo Yin², and Daoying Geng^2
1Radiology Department, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China, ²Radiology Department, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Purpose:To compare the DWI image quality in BLADE and single-shot EPI sequence in sellar region. Methods: 3 healthy volunteers and 52 patients with sellar lesions participated in this prospective intra-individual study. Scanings were performed at 3.0T with BLADE DWI and single-shot EPI DWI sequence. SNR and image quality were evaluated. Lesions` sizes were measured for detecting their relationship with the image scores. Results: SNR showed no difference between two sequence and BLADE overperformed in image quality. The minimal lesion`s size for visualization was 12mm in BLADE and 28mm in EPI DWI. Conclusion£ºBLADE DWI MRI can reduce artifacts and enhance the image quality in sellar region.

Aram Tonoyan¹, Farida Grinberg^2,3, Ezequiel Farrher², Igor Pronin¹, Lyudmila Fadeeva¹, Valeriy Kornienko¹, and Nadim Jon Shah^2,3
1Neuroradiology, Burdenko Neurosurgery Institute, Moscow, Central Federal District, Russian Federation, ²Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine – 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Juelich, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, ³Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, JARA, Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Synopsis Adequate grading of cerebral gliomas prior to treatment is, among clinical findings such as age and tumour location, of utmost importance for predicting the response to treatment and the outcome (the 4th edition of the WHO CNS tumour classification guidelines). Invasive histologic examination still remains the reference standard for obtaining a definitive diagnosis of brain neoplasms and is required in current oncologic practice to start adjuvant therapy. Hence, there is a demand for new non-invasive techniques enabling glioma grading. In our investigation, we have evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of diffusion kurtosis MRI to differentiate between grade I-II, grade III and grade IV gliomas.

Radka Stoyanova¹, Andres Parra¹, Fazilat Ishkanian¹, Arnold Markoe¹, Rakesh Gupta², Bhaswati Roy², and Andrew Maudsley^3
1Radiation Oncology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States, ²Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Haryana, India, ³Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States

Metabolic tumor volumes (MTV), based on volumetric Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) are compared with standard radiation treatment (RT) volumes in 19 treatment naive GBM patients. In a third of these patients more than a third of the MTVs are outside of the treatment area. MTVs are constructed based on high Choline distributions which are related to active and infiltrative tumor. This is the first comprehensive evaluation of MRSI covering the entire brain. The data is integrated in RT software and may lead to the development of novel treatment strategies tailored to each patient’s active tumor.

Javier Villanueva-Meyer¹, Ramon Barajas¹, Marc Mabray¹, Igor Barani², and Soonmee Cha^1
1Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California - San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ²Radiation Oncology, University of California - San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

Conventional MR techniques are inaccurate in differentiating and quantifying peritumoral vasogenic edema associated with brain metastases from infiltrative edema in the setting of primary glial tumors. We evaluated the use of quantitative T1 rho and ADC mapping to differentiate between these two types of tumor-related edema. We found significantly elevated T1 rho and ADC values in the peritumoral edema of intracranial metastases compared to gliomas. Our preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility and potential role of 3D T1 rho imaging in the quantitative assessment of edema related to intracranial tumors.

Yasutaka Fushimi¹, Tomohisa Okada¹, Mitsunori Kanagaki¹, Akira Yamamoto¹, Yumiko Kanda¹, Ryo Sakamoto¹, Masato Hojo², Jun C. Takahashi², Susumu Miyamoto², and Kaori Togashi^1
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, ²Department of Neurosurgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

3D dynamic pituitary MR provided better identification and higher normalized values of pituitary posterior lobe and stalk.

A. Elizabeth de Guzman^1,2, Benjamin Turnbull¹, Rebecca Crosier¹, and Brian J. Nieman^1,2
1Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Therapeutic cranial irradiation for pediatric patients often results in long term cognitive side effects, such as memory loss. Using anatomical analysis, we identified a correlation between memory function, as determined by the novel object test, and a subset of brain structures in the young irradiated mouse. Structures identified are those previously shown to be important in novel object recognition, demonstrating the potential for neuroanatomy to act as a marker of cognitive deficit in the described mouse model.

Yingli Yang¹, Fei Han², Minsong Cao², Tania Kaprealian², Ke Sheng², Daniel Low², Patrick Kupelian², and Peng Hu^2
1University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States

We present an optimized UTE MRI acquisition protocol and post-processing technique for MRI-based patient setup and treatment simulation for radiation therapy of brain cancer patients.

Melissa A Prah¹, Mona M Al-Gizawiy¹, Wade M Mueller², and Kathleen M Schmainda^1,3
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States,³Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

In brain tumor patients, pseudoprogression, which results from an inflammatory response associated with necrotic and radiation induced changes, has been shown to mimic early tumor progression on standard imaging. Relative cerebral blood volume measures have shown promise in differentiating radiation necrosis and tumor. Through pre-surgical imaging and spatially correlated biopsy samples, this work demonstrates that both normalized and standardized relative cerebral blood volume measures can distinguish radiation necrosis from tumor with equally high sensitivity and specificity. The results of this study may be useful for the creation of tumor burden maps, which could ultimately affect the course of patient treatment.

Manabu Kinoshita^1,2, Takashi Sasayama³, Yoshitaka Narita⁴, Fumio Yamashita⁵, Atsushi Kawaguchi⁶, Naoya Hashimoto², and Toshiki Yoshimine^2
1Neurosurgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Osaka, Japan, ²Neurosurgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan, ³Neurosurgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan, ⁴National Cancer Center Hospital, Neurosurgery and Neuro-Oncology, Tokyo, Japan, ⁵Division of Ultrahigh Field MRI, Iwate Medical University, Iwate, Japan, ⁶Biostatistics Center, Kurume University, Fukuoka, Japan

MR based group analysis is a powerful tool to elucidate pathological conditions in the brain that are challenging to be revealed by single subject analysis. The presented research aimed to elucidate special distribution characteristics of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) within the brain with respect to its molecular marker expression patterns. GCB lymphomas located at around the posterior portion of the white matter surrounding the lateral ventricles and the cerebellum around the 4th ventricle, while non-GCB lymphomas tended to occupy the anterior portion of the white matter surrounding the lateral ventricles. This is the very first report that addresses phenotypical and spatial distributional difference between GCB and non-GCB PCNSL.

Changho Choi^1
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States

2-Hydroxyglutarate (2HG) is produced in gliomas with IDH mutations. Given the diagnostic and prognostic value of 2HG and the high availability of 1.5T MR scanners in clinics, the capability of detecting 2HG at 1.5T in-vivo is of high significance. Here we report a computer simulation study for 2HG detection at 1.5T. Synthetic spectra of 15 metabolites with random noises were generated at TE = 20, 66, and 143 ms for various 2HG concentrations and the 2HG detectability was examined with spectral fitting. The 2HG concentrations were well reproduced, suggesting that in-vivo detection of 2HG is highly feasible at 1.5T.

Hyeon-Man Baek^1,2, Yun-Ju Lee¹, Gregory Hyung Jin Park¹, Eun-Hee Kim¹, and Chaejoon Cheong^1
1Division of MR Research, Korea Basic Science Institute, Ochang, Chungbuk, Korea, ²Department of Bio-Analytical Science, University of Science & Technology, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Korea

Accurate measurement of 2HG levels by them is challenging due to significant overlap with neighboring metabolites such as GABA, Glu, Gln, and m-Ins. In addition, these techniques have limitations to detect and quantify the 2HG levels from wild type IDH tumors because of the sensitivity issues. In this study, in vivo 1H-MRS, and in vitro high resolution 1H-NMR, and Mass spectroscopy (MS) have been applied to the quantification of metabolites in wild type and mutant IDH1/2 brain tumor extracts. A significant increase in the levels of 2HG was observed in the IDH1/2 mutants, which is consistent with the previous published results

Lisa M Harris¹, Nina Tunariu¹, Christina Messiou¹, Toni Wallace¹, Julie Hughes¹, Nandita M deSouza¹, Martin O Leach¹, and Geoffrey S Payne^1
1CRUK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumour, active tumour potentially goes unrecognized as it may invade further than is visible on standard MRI. Recognition of tumoral infiltration extent potentially could improve treatment outcome. This study presents work applying a selective homonuclear multiple quantum coherence transfer (SelMQC) sequence in a group of GBM tumours to assess lactate concentration. Lactate was seen in the surrounding tissue of some patients, all of whom had recently completed radiotherapy. Two conclusions could be possible, either the surrounding lactate is from infiltrating tumour or lactate in the periphery maybe an effect of radiation induced hypoxia.

Melissa A Prah¹, L.Tugan Muftuler², and Kathleen M Schmainda^1,3
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States,³Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

As part of the standard imaging protocol for brain tumors, a directionally independent measure of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) can be derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Additionally, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which incorporates the direction of gradient vectors, can be used to calculate ADC, referred to as mean diffusivity (MD). However, when DTI is acquired, DWI is still appended to the same scanning session based simply on historical practices. This work demonstrates that ADC derived from DTI or DWI can be used interchangeably in evaluating glioblastoma multiforme, thereby addressing time and cost-saving measures associated with redundancy in image acquisition.

Domenico Aquino¹, Anna Luisa Di Stefano², Alessandro Scotti¹, Lucia Cuppini¹, Elena Anghileri³, Gaetano Finocchiaro³, Maria Grazia Bruzzone¹, and Marica Eoli^3
1Neuroradiology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy, ²General Neurology, IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Nazionale C.Mondino, Pavia, Italy, ³Molecular Neuro-Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy

Perfusion weighted imaging may be useful in the early assessment of response to angiogenesis inhibitors. Aim of this work is to compare Parametric Response Maps with the Region Of Interest approach in the analysis of tumor changes induced by bevacizumab and irinotecan in 42 recurrent glioblastomas, and to evaluate if changes in tumor CBV measured by perfusion MRI may predict clinical outcome. An increased CBV (> 18%) in PRM after 8 weeks of treatment was associated with increased PFS and OS. The presence of two non-contiguous lesions and multifocal disease at baseline were independent predictors of shorter PFS and OS.

Fusun Citak Er¹, Zeynep Firat², Basar Sarikaya², Ugur Ture³, and Esin Ozturk-Isik^4
1Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey, ²Department of Radiology, Yeditepe University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, ³Department of Neurosurgery, Yeditepe University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

This study aims to evaluate the performance of non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) for supervised classification of brain tumor grade using quantitative multiparametric MR imaging at 3T. Fractional anisotropy, cerebral blood volume, mean transit time, cerebral blood flow, apparent diffusion coefficient and peak height ratios of N-acetyl aspartate over creatine (NAA/Cr) and choline over creatine (Cho/Cr) of thirty newly diagnosed glioma patients were calculated, and used as predictors for classification of tumor grade. NMF results were compared with k-nearest neighbor (kNN) algorithm. This study showed that non-negative matrix factorization performed better than kNN in glioma grading using multiparametric MRI at 3T.

Christian Federau¹ and Kieran O'Brien^2
1Departement of Radiology, CHUV, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ²CIBM, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland

Measuring brain perfusion using Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) MRI has gained interest recently. We present results demonstrating that IVIM perfusion fraction map contrast can be increased in human brain tumors using a T2 magnetization preparation, suppressing cerebrospinal fluid but recovering blood signal, therefore improving lesion detection.

Hassan Bagher-Ebadian^1,2, Mohammad Reza Nazem-Zadeh¹, Jason M Schawlb³, Abdelrahman Hassane¹, and Hamid Soltanian-Zadeh^1,4
1Radiology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, United States, ²Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States, ³Neurosurgery, Henry Ford Hospital, MI, United States, ⁴CIPCE, ECE Dept., University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients that are medically refractory may be candidates for surgical intervention. It is critical to select the surgery candidates confidently to maximize the chance of post-surgical-seizure freedom. The presence of sclerosis in hippocampus is a good indicator for a positive outcome of surgery. This study introduces a novel approach (Equilibrium-Model) as a grader of sclerosis severity in hippocampus using MR-Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery (MR-FLAIR) information. The proposed method is applied on MR-FLAIR information of ten TLE patients with hippocampal sclerosis (pathology-proven). Results (80% correct-classification-fraction) imply that the proposed method may increase confidence in localizing seizure focus.

Gabriel KOCEVAR¹, Salem HANNOUN^1,2, Françoise DURAND-DUBIEF^1,3, Jean-Amedée ROCH⁴, François COTTON^1,4, and Dominique SAPPEY-MARINIER^1,5
1CREATIS, UMR5520 & U1044 INSERM, University of Lyon, Lyon, Rhone-Alpes, France, ²OFSEP, University of Lyon, Bron, Rhone-Alpes, France, ³Service de Neurologie A, Hôpital Neurologique, Bron, Rhone-Alpes, France, ⁴Service de Radiologie, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Lyon, Rhone-Alpes, France,⁵CERMEP - Imagerie du Vivant, Bron, France

White matter lesions could lead to neurodegeneration along the fibers. This study proposes to evaluate white matter lesions effects on distant regions based on weekly longitudinal follow-up. This longitudinal analysis highlighted the ability of DTI to quantify and monitor underlying pathological mechanisms occurring in the lesion, and to a lesser extent, in the normal appearing WM. Significant correlation between lesion and CC L1, may suggest an axonal degenerative process occurring along the fiber. Furthermore, fiber tracking may constitute a new tool to monitor distant effects of lesions, and therefore better understand the relation between inflammatory events and neurodegenerative processes.

Daniel García-Lorenzo¹, Benedetta Bodini^1,2, Geraldine Bera³, Stephane Lehericy⁴, and Bruno Stankoff^1,5
1ICM/CRICM, UPMC/INSERM UMR_975 CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France, ²Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ³APHP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France, ⁴CENIR, ICM/CRICM, UPMC/INSERM UMR_975 CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France,⁵APHP, Hôpital Tenon, Paris, France

Multiple sclerosis lesions may affect brain atrophy measurements and this can be reduced with lesion inpainting. We propose to use a super-resolution technique to increase the resolution of T2-w images before segmenting lesions. Our hypothesis is that using super-resolution T2-w images, we detect more lesions and the inpainting will provide more accurate atrophy measures. We found a higher number of detected lesions using super-resolution compared with standard T2-w images. Also, super-resolution lesions masks reduced the error in the estimation of the cortical thickness compared to the 2D lesion masks after inpainting. This technique can be applied to already acquired protocols.

Praveena Manogaran¹, Irene Vavasour², Michael Borich³, Shannon Heather Kolind¹, William Donald Regan⁴, Alex MacKay^2,5, Lara Boyd³, David K. B. Li², and Anthony Traboulsee^1
1Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, ²Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, ³Physical Therapy, Brain Behaviour Lab, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, ⁴Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,⁵Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

This preliminary study aimed to characterize differences in cortical excitability and myelin status of descending motor output pathways and evaluate the relationships between these measures in MS, NMO and controls. Structural changes were found in the descending motor output pathway white matter in NMO and cortical excitability changes in MS that are specific to intracortical inhibitory pathways in comparison to one another and also compared to healthy controls. However, these metrics are not related to one another. These results suggest that there are both neurophysiological and neuroanatomical changes that may potentially offer novel biomarkers to distinguish MS from NMO.

Maria A. Rocca¹, Laura Parisi¹, Flavia Mattioli², Ruggero Capra³, and Massimo Filippi^1
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy,²Clinical Neuropsychology, Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, BS, Italy, ³MS Centre, Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, BS, Italy

Voxel-based morphometry was used to assess the patterns of regional atrophy of the brain gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in patients with “cortical” variant of multiple sclerosis (cort-MS) in comparison to patients with classic MS (c-MS). Compared to c-MS, cort-MS patients had GM atrophy of fronto-temporal-parietal areas and cingulum and WM atrophy of cingulum, bilateral brainstem and associative fiber bundles. GM and WM atrophy of key brain regions known to be related to cognitive functions contribute to differentiate cort-MS from c-MS. Higher susceptibility to neurodegenerative processes in these areas could underlie the clinical presentation of this disease form.

Katherine L Pogrebniak^1,2, Ziad S Saad³, Daniel S Reich¹, and Govind Nair^1
1NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States, ²Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States, ³NIMH, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States

Cortical myelin is extensively lost in advanced MS and and is thought to be a major cause of disability. Several studies have characterized myelin content of the cortical gray matter using optimized T1-weighted MPRAGE and ratio of T1- over T2-weighted images. In this study of 5 healthy volunteers and 11 MS patients, T1/T2 signal trended to be lower in the cortical ribbon of MS cases vs. healthy volunteers, and this signal change correlated with clinical measures of disability including time required to complete a 9-hole peg test. The technique shows potential as a quantitative marker for cortical demyelination.

Liang Zhan¹, Adam Carpenter², Yuval Duchin³, Noam Harel³, Guillermo Sapiro⁴, Paul M Thompson¹, and Christophe Lenglet^3
1USC Imaging Genetics Center, University of Southern California, Marina Del Rey, CA, United States, ²Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ³Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States,⁴Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States

We use high-field (7-Tesla) diffusion MRI, tractography and network analysis techniques to investigate global structural connectivity changes in patients with multiple sclerosis. Two network measures (the normalized mean clustering coefficient and normalized global efficiency) were identified as significantly different between patients and controls in this pilot study. This may provide novel information to better understand neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis.

Hetty Prinsen¹, Robin A de Graaf¹, Graeme F Mason¹, Daniel Pelletier¹, and Christoph Juchem^1
1Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States

Glutathione (GSH), GABA, and glutamate are assumed to play key roles in the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). We report their measurement in a single 1-hour session establishment of J-difference editing and STEAM MR spectroscopy (MRS) twice in five healthy individuals and once in an MS patient (along with other MS-relevant neurochemicals such as NAA, myo-inositol, creatine, and cholines). The implementation is expected to serve as a tool for clinical MS research, patient monitoring, and treatment control.

Niamh Cawley¹, Bhavana Solanky², Nils Muhlert³, CAM Wheeler-Kingshott², A.J Thompson^1,4, and Olga Ciccarelli^1,5
1Dept. Brain Repair & Rehabilitation, QS MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Neuroinflammation, QS MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom, ³Cognitive Neuroscience, Cardiff, United Kingdom, ⁴NIHR UCL-UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom, ⁵NIHR UCL-UCLH Biomedical Reserach Centre, London, United Kingdom

In this study we have provided quantification of GABA concentration in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and sensorimotor cortex in patients with secondary progressive MS in comparison to healthy controls using the MEGA-PRESS 1H MRS at 3T. Patients showed reduced [GABA+] levels in the hippocampus and in the sensori-motor cortex, compared to controls. We then looked to see if [GABA+] was associated with cognitive impairment in the hippocampus and motor and sensory function in the sensori-motor cortex. There was a significant association between grip strength and [GABA+] in the sensori-motor cortex as well as muscle strength using the MRC scoring system.

Pallab K Bhattacharyya¹, Blessy Mathew¹, Bharath Atthe¹, Mark Lowe¹, and Robert Bermel^1
1Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States

Increased task-related cortical activation in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been reported to be correlated with gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) level in sensorimotor as well as visual cortex. This has been attributed to possible role of GABA in cortical adaptation in MS. We studied 8 MS patients with optical neuritis to investigate whether the impairment of specific eye has any effect on the correlation of GABA with activation. We observe that the correlation is independent of the impairment of the eye suggesting potential role of GABA in cortical adaptation is a general phenomenon in MS.

Pallab K Bhattacharyya¹, Blessy Mathew¹, Bharath Atthe¹, Mark Lowe¹, and Robert Bermel^1
1Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States

Increased task-related cortical activation in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been reported to be correlated with inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) level in sensorimotor as well as visual cortex. This has been attributed to possible role of GABA in cortical adaptation in MS. We studied 8 MS patients with optical neuritis (ON) to investigate the involvement of GABA and excitatory glutamate (plus glutamine, together known as glx) in activation along nasal and temporal pathways. We observed a difference in the involvement of glx along the two pathways, while GABA involvement remained the same.

Bhavana Shantilal Solanky¹, Frank Riemer¹, Xavier Golay², Olga Ciccarelli², and Claudia AM Wheeler-Kingshott^1
1NMR Research Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom

A careful balance of intra- and extracellular sodium exists in healthy tissue. In multiple sclerosis (MS) sodium imbalances in brain lesions, as well as in normal appearing white matter have been reported. It is thought that this could be due to increased extracellular space, and/or an increased intracellular sodium accumulation. The low SNR of sodium-MRI and the small size of the spinal cord has made quantification in spinal cord challenging. Here we have quantified spinal cord sodium in MS patients for the first time using the recently developed ²³Na-MRS FUSS ISIS sequence.

M. Mateo Paz Soldan¹, Jeffrey D. Gamez¹, Mekala Raman¹, Slobodan I. Macura², Aaron J. Johnson³, and Istvan Pirko^1
1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States, ²Biochemistry and NMR Core Facility, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States,³Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States

Multiple sclerosis pathology is characterized by demyelination, axonal loss and neuronal damage. Neurologic disability correlates with axonal loss and atrophy. Using in vivo MRI, we established a time course of brain and spinal cord atrophy in a murine MS model, and correlated that with functional disability. Mouse strains with spontaneous remyelination show limited atrophy and disability, while mouse strains without remyelination display progressive atrophy and disability. Brain atrophy occurs early while spinal cord atrophy is delayed. Both correlate strongly with disability. Remyelination is a key component of axonal/neuronal survival, which likely explains improved functional and radiological outcomes in this model.

Thomas W. Johnson¹, Nabeela Nathoo¹, Ying Wu¹, James A. Rogers², and Jeff F. Dunn^1,3
1Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ²Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ³Experimental Imaging Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

High-resolution MRI of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of MS, was performed using a cryogenically-cooled RF coil. Gross anatomical differences were found in the peak mice, where cerebellar cross-sectional area and dorso-lateral distance were increased. Long-term EAE mice had sizes intermediate between controls and peak-EAE mice. In addition, a novel ‘anoxic sacrifice’ method of increasing blood vessel contrast was used. A trend of increased blood vessel size was seen in some peak EAE mice, indicating a neuroinflammatory cause. These data show the potential for using high resolution MR and our novel sacrifice method for looking at changes in gross anatomy and blood vessels in mouse brain.

Othman I Alomair^1,2, Nematullah Khan³, Maree Smith^3,4, Ian M Brereton¹, Graham J Galloway¹, and Nyoman D Kurniawan^1
1Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, ²College of Applied medical Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia, ³School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, ⁴Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Cortical gray matter demyelination is a potential hallmark of Multiple Sclerosis. Here we describe the use of high spatial and angular resolution ex vivo diffusion-weighted imaging (HARDI) to investigate neuropathological changes in the brains of our mild EAE-mouse model of remitting-relapsing MS.

Hugh Kearney¹, Marios C Yiannakas¹, Rebecca S Samson¹, Claudia A.M. Wheeler-Kingshott¹, Olga Ciccarelli^1,2, and David H. Miller^1,2
1NMR Research Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom, ²NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom

Meningeal inflammation has been proposed to cause subjacent parenchymal demyelination in multiple sclerosis ( MS). We therefore investigated the outermost region of the spinal cord containing pia mater and subpial tissue using magnetisation transfer (MT) imaging. In healthy controls, MTR was higher in the outer spinal cord compared to cord white matter, which may reflect an effect of collagen in the spinal cord pia mater. In MS we found a decrease in MTR in this region, which occurred early in the disease course, prior to significant cord atrophy.

James R Larkin¹, Alex M Dickens^1,2, Daniel C Anthony², Julian L Griffin³, Ana Cavey⁴, Lucy Matthews⁴, Benjamin G Davis⁵, Timothy D W Claridge⁵, Jacqueline Palace⁴, and Nicola R Sibson^1
1CR-UK/MRC Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxon, United Kingdom,²Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxon, United Kingdom, ³Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambs, United Kingdom, ⁴Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxon, United Kingdom, ⁵Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxon, United Kingdom

We used high resolution NMR-based metabolomics to investigate the differences between serum samples from patient groups with both relapsing-remitting (RR) and secondary progressive (SP) multiple sclerosis, as well as control volunteers. We found differences between the spectra from different groups and were able to build predictive partial least squares discriminant analysis models which separated not only patients from control volunteers but also separated the RR and SP multiple sclerosis patients. ROC curve analysis showed that this prediction was sensitive and specific. This separation is currently very difficult to achieve and NMR-metabolomics may ease the diagnostic burden in the clinic.

William D Rooney¹, Manoj K. Sammi¹, Xin Li¹, Brendan Moloney¹, Yosef A. Berlow¹, Dennis N. Bourdette², and Charles S. Springer, Jr.^1
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States, ²Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States

Current metabolic imaging methods suffer from spatial resolution poorer than desired. Shutter-speed pharmacokinetic analyses of DCE-MRI data provides the mean capillary water lifetime, tau_b, with ~1 mm resolution. Here, we show the first ever tau_b maps for the normal and MS human brains. By comparison with another pharmacokinetic biomarker and with other metabolic imaging results, we show that tau_b is inversely proportional to on-going neuronal Na⁺/K⁺ATPase activity. This activity is decreased in the MS brain.

Hagen H Kitzler¹, Hannes Wahl¹, Jason Su², Henning Schmitz-Peiffer³, Ziemssen Tjalf³, Sean C Deoni⁴, and Brian K Rutt^2
1Neuroradiology Department, Technische Universitaet, Dresden, SN, Germany, ²Radiology Department, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States, ³Neurology Department, Technische Universitaet, Dresden, SN, Germany, ⁴Engineering Department, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States

Within this study we investigated the discrimination of Clinically Isolated Syndrome patients from healthy controls using mcDESPOT, a whole-brain relaxation method that allows the evaluation of WM myelination by means of measuring myelin water fraction. An ordinarily hidden relationship between CIS and subtle WM myelination changes before the conversion to definite MS was established and a correlation between the time since symptom onset and decreasing brain parenchymal volume suggested early global tissue changes reflected by volume measures. A strong effect of lesional MWF changes on the odds to convert to MS, although not significant, may reflect a potential predictor.

Robert Allan Brown¹, Kunio Nakamura¹, David Araujo¹, Sridar Narayanan¹, and Douglas Arnold^1
1Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Brain volume (BV) can change in response to hydration status. It has been hypothesized that some decreases in BV seen in response to treatment may be due to the resolution of edema (pseudoatrophy). We scanned subjects after both dehydration and rehydration and determined a quantitative relationship between changes in two-point T2 measurements and brain volume. This can be used to investigate pseudoatrophy as well as correct brain volume measurements for hydration status.

David Romascano^1,2, Djalel-Eddine Meskaldji², Guillaume Bonnier¹, Samanta Simioni³, David Rotzinger⁴, Ying-Chia Lin⁵, Gloria Menegaz⁵, Alexis Roche^4,6, Myriam Schluep³, Renaud Du Pasquier³, Jonas Richiardi^7,8, Dimitri Van De Ville^7,8, Alessandro Daducci², Tilman J. Sumpf⁹, Jens Frahm⁹, Jean-Philippe Thiran^2,4, Gunnar Krueger^1,6, and Cristina Granziera^1,3
1CIBM-AIT, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ²Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ³Department of Clinical Neurosciences, CHUV and UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁴Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁵Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy, ⁶Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, Siemens Healthcare IM BM PI, Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁷School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁸Department of Radiology and Medical Informations, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ⁹Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goettingen, Germany

The cerebellum is involved in multiple sclerosis (MS), but its implication in early phases is still poorly understood. We investigated structural and functional cerebellar connectivity alterations in early and minimally impaired MS patients, and their correlation to patients’ clinical status. We reconstructed the connectomes of 28 MS patients and 16 healthy controls and performed network statistical analysis. Structural connectivity was found to be altered independently from cerebellar lesion count, volume and disease duration; the microstructural properties of altered connections correlated with patients’ motor and cognitive performance. No topological reorganization or compensatory mechanisms were observed at this stage.

Maria A. Rocca¹, Alessandro Meani¹, Paola Valsasina¹, Gianna Riccitelli¹, Mariaemma Rodegher², Elisabetta Pagani¹, Bruno Colombo², Andrea Falini³, Giancarlo Comi², and Massimo Filippi^1
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy,²Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy, ³Department of Neuroradiology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy

We assessed the interaction between cognitive reserve, memory impairment and hippocampal resting state (RS) functional connectivity (FC) in multiple sclerosis (MS). Memory impaired (MI) vs memory preserved (MP) patients and controls had reduced hippocampal RS FC with the bilateral caudate nucleus, and several region of frontal and parietal lobes; whereas MP patients vs the other two groups, had increased RS FC with the right cerebellum and right orbital gyrus. Higher cognitive reserve index were related to higher RS FC with the left orbital gyrus. Cognitive reserve contributes to protect from memory decline by modulating functional integrity of the hippocampus.

Ponnada A Narayana¹, Sushmita Datta¹, Terrell D Staewen², Stacey S Cofield³, Gary R Cutter³, Fred D Lublin⁴, and Jerry S Wolinsky^2
1University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, United States, ²University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas, United States, ³University of Alabama, Alabama, United States, ⁴School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States

Longitudinal changes in regional brain atrophy were investigated over three years in a large trial cohort of RRMS subjects. Thalamic atrophy was evident within 6 months on study. Atrophy extended to multiple white and gray matter structures with time in a structure dependent manner. The lateral ventricular volume also increased early. With time focal enlargement of sulci was observed. The observed volume change is thought to reflect tissue loss or neurodegeneration. Atrophy of regional structures and increased CSF spaces may provide more sensitive biomarkers than global change measures for evaluating disease evolution and the effects of MS therapies.

Thanh D. Nguyen¹, Kofi Deh¹, Ashish Raj¹, Susan A. Gauthier², and Yi Wang^1
1Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States, ²Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States

Whole brain myelin water fraction (MWF) imaging is highly desired but currently is too time-consuming to be useful clinically, with acquisition times exceeding 10 minutes and processing times still on the order of hours. The purpose of this study is to develop and optimize a rapid and robust whole brain MWF mapping protocol for routine clinical use at 3T with 6.5 min acquisition and 15 min processing time. Results in healthy controls and MS patients demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.

Yaou Liu¹, Yunyun Duan¹, Zhengjia Dai², Ni Shu², Yong He², and Kuncheng Li^1
1Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing, China, ²Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

We demonstrate both functional impairment and compensation in CIS, the earliest stage of MS, by voxel-based resting-state fMRI. Furthermore, from CIS to MS, the brain plasticity enhance especially in deep gray matter, thus the alterations in CIS may be transient prior to the onset of significant cortical reorganization. Increased FCS in REC/ OLF/ACC and MFG implies the brain reserve, which may predict the conversion to MS.

Hilit Levy-barazany¹, Daniel Barazany^1,2, Lindsay Puckett³, Shani Kanfi¹, Nofit Borenstein-Auerbach¹, Kayong Yang³, Jean Pierre S Peron³, Howard L Weiner³, and Dan Frenkel^1,4
1Department of Neurobiology, Tel Aviv Unviersity, Tel Aviv, Israel, ²CUBRIC School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom,³Department of Neurology, Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ⁴Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv, Israel

MS is an autoimmune disease of the CNS in which pro-inflammatory processes that target self myelin lead to demyelination. We have shown that EAE model in non-obese diabetic mice leads to a chronic disease which is followed by brain lesion development that can be monitored by MRI. Here we examined whether immune responses induced by nasal MOG treatment affect clinical progression and demyelination in chronic progressive EAE, and evaluated the effect of the treatment by DTI and T1-Gd techniques. Our results demonstrate that MRI can monitor treatment of ongoing disease in this model for testing new therapies for MS.

Crombé Amandine¹, Tourdias Thomas¹, De Roquefeuil Elise¹, Durieux Muriel¹, and Dousset Vincent^1
1Service de Neuroimagerie Diagnostique et Thérapeutique, Pellegrin Hospital, Bordeaux Segalen University, Bordeaux, France

As national cohort are trying to establish the best protocol in order to improve detection of demyelinising and active lesions in multiple sclerosis, our aim was to compare two protocols, one only including common 2D sequences (axial and sagittal FLAIR-wi, axial T2 DUAL with T2 and proton density wi and axial T1 after gadolinium injection) and the other only including 3D sequences (3D FLAIR and 3D T1 FSPGR before and after gadolinium injection) at 3Teslas. We recommend 3D protocol which detect significantly more demyelinising lesions and active lesions with better contrast to noise ratio and signal to noise ratio.

Mariko Yoshida¹, Masaaki Hori¹, Kazumasa Yokoyama², Nozomi Hamasaki¹, Michimasa Suzuki¹, Koji Kamagata¹, Kohei Kamiya¹, Shigeki Aoki¹, Yoshitaka Masutani³, and Nobutaka Hattori^2
1Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, ²Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, ³Division of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Visual disability is common in multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated changes in diffusion MRI metrics, including the diffusional kurtosis parameter, in the optic tract and radiations comparing optic nerve damage in visual evoked potentials (VEPs).Twenty-one patients with MS participated in this study. We compared the degree of diffusional abnormalities in the optic tract and radiations between MS patients with bilateral and unilateral optic damage. We showed that unilateral damages in the pregeniculate optic pathway were adequately compensated for by the lateral geniculate nucleus owing to neural plasticity. Moreover, we confirmed correlations between diffusion MRI metrics and VEPs latency.

Michael Amann¹, Till Sprenger^1,2, Yvonne Naegelin¹, Gabriela Kalt², Stefano Magon¹, Julia Reinhardt¹, Pascal Kuster², Ludwig Kappos¹, Ernst-Wilhelm Radue^1,2, Christoph Stippich¹, and Oliver Bieri^1
1University Hospital Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland, ²Medical Image Analysis Center (MIAC), Basel, BS, Switzerland

Magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) is an MRI marker for demyelination in MS. In this study, a 3D-MTR technique based on balanced steady-state free-precession (bSSFP) is compared with a 2D-gradient-echo (GRE) MT sequence in terms of MTR selectivity for different normal-appearing brain structures and for lesions in 32 MS patients. Spatial resolution was 1.3x1.3x1.3mm³ (bSSFP) and 1x2x4mm³ (GRE) yielding similar SNR and scan time. In bSSFP but not in GRE, cortical-MTR was significantly higher than MTR of accumbens, caudatus, and putamen; as well as white matter MTR was higher than thalamus-MTR. Also, only in bSFFP, cortical lesions’ MTR significantly predicted EDSS.

Salem Hannoun^1,2, Francoise Durand-Dubief^2,3, Danielle Ibarrola⁴, Michele Cavallari⁵, Christian Confavreux³, Francois Cotton^2,6, Charles RG Guttmann⁵, and Dominique Sappey-Marinier^2,4
1OFSEP, University of Lyon, Bron, Rhones-Alpes, France, ²CREATIS, University of Lyon, Lyon, Rhones-Alpes, France, ³Service de Neurologie A, Pierre Wertheimer Neurological Hospital, Bron, Rhones-Alpes, France, ⁴CERMEP-Imagerie du Vivant, Bron, Rhones-Alpes, France, ⁵Brigham Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, ⁶Service de Radiologie, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Lyon, Rhones-Alpes, France

The goal of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relative contribution of cerebellar peduncles microstructural integrity in determining disability in two groups of Multiple Sclerosis patients, with (WL) and without (NL) lesions, in the three cerebellar peduncles. Our results demonstrated significant alterations of diffusivity in the cerebellar white matter regions of all Multiple Sclerosis patients. These findings suggest the presence of microstructural damage of the cerebellum that probably contributed to the decreased motor and cognitive performances observed in Multiple Sclerosis patients, and particularly in patients with cerebellar peduncles lesions.

Sneha Pandya¹, Thanh D. Nguyen¹, Mitchell A. Cooper¹, Eve LoCastro¹, Michael Dayan¹, Susan A. Gauthier², and Ashish Raj^1
1Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States, ²Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States

Eleven healthy volunteers were scanned twice within the same session at 3T using a whole brain fast T2prep 3D spiral sequence. Myelin water fraction (MWF) maps were extracted from these spirals using an automated processing pipeline with the spatially constrained multi-Gaussian algorithm. The inter-scan repeatability for the test-retest reliability of whole brain MWF maps was assessed. The whole brain MWF maps were highly repeatable between the two scans with the mean correlation coefficient R = 0.91 ± 0.03 and mean relative mean squared difference = 3.5 ± 1.5% (n=11). Bland-Altman plots reveal a negligible bias within narrow limits of agreement.

Ferran Prados^1,2, Manuel Jorge Cardoso¹, David M Cash^1,3, Marc Modat^1,3, Claudia A. M. Wheeler-Kingshott², and Sebastien Ourselin^1,3
1Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College of London, London, United Kingdom, ²NMR Research Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom, ³Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom

Brain atrophy is an accurate predictor of multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology. In this work, we present a generalised formulation of the Boundary Shift Integral (GBSI) using probabilistic segmentations. This method adaptively estimates a non-binary XOR region-of-interest from probabilistic brain segmentations of the baseline and repeat scans, in order to better localise and capture the brain atrophy. We evaluate the proposed method by comparing the sample size requirements for an hypothetical clinical trial of MS disease to that needed for SIENA. GBSI results reduced sample size, providing increased sensitivity to disease changes through the use of the probabilistic XOR region.

Sushmita Datta¹, Terrell D. Staewen¹, Stacy S. Cofield², Gary R. Cutter², Fred D. Lublin³, Jerry S. Wolinsky⁴, and Ponnada A. Narayana^1
1Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States, ²Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States, ³The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, New York, United States, ⁴Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, United States

The effect of lesion in-painting on the estimated regional atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) was evaluated on a large cohort for different T2 lesion burdens. The results suggest that in-painting has effects on regions close to the ventricular regions. The effect is most prominent at high lesion burden.

Cynthia Wisnieff^1,2, Ryan Brown³, David Pitt⁴, and Yi Wang^1,2
1Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States, ²Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, United States, ³Radiology, New York University, New York, New York, United States, ⁴Neurology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

This work examines the susceptibility properties of ex vivo MS brain specimens with quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). QSM reveals the diamagnetic properties of cortical lesions and increased paramagnetic properties of white matter lesions. Changes in both white matter and grey matter tissue properties are linked to the pathogenic process in multiple sclerosis (MS). This preliminary data demonstrates the ability of QSM to detect WM and GM lesions compared to other gradient echo based methods and assesses changes in susceptibility within both white matter and grey matter lesions compared to normal appearing tissue.

Maria Vittoria Spampinato¹, Meaghan Neill¹, Neal Hatch¹, Jens H. Jensen², Joseph Helpern², and Ali Tabesh^2
1Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States, ²Medical University of South Carolina, SC, United States

We assessed correlations between measures of brain tissue microstructure derived from diffusional kurtosis imaging and neurological disability in forty-one patients with multiple sclerosis. We found significant correlations between the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and diffusion metrics of the normal appearing white matter of the entire skeleton, genu and body of the corpus callosum, and cortico-spinal tracts. Quantitative imaging metrics may prove useful as predictors of clinical outcome in multiple sclerosis and have the potential to guide treatment.

Emilie Doche^1,2, Angèle Lecocq^1,3, Adil Maarouf^1,3, Guillaume Duhamel^1,3, Virginie Callot^1,3, Elisabeth Soulier^1,3, Sylviane Confort-Gouny^1,3, Audrey Rico^1,2, Françoise Reuter^1,2, Bertrand Audoin^1,2, Jean Pelletier^1,2, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva^1,3, and Wafaa Zaaraoui^1,3
1Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS CRMBM UMR 7339, Marseille, France, ²Pole de Neurosciences Cliniques, APHM Hopital de la Timone, Marseille, France,³Pole d'Imagerie médicale, CEMEREM, APHM Hopital de la Timone, Marseille cedex 5, France

Increasing evidence suggests a microvascular participation in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) injury, but relationships between brain perfusion abnormalities and disability have not been clearly demonstrated. Brain perfusion of 23 MS patients and 16 healthy subjects was assessed non-invasively by pseudoContinuous Arterial Spin Labeling MRI at 3T. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) of gray matter, white matter and T2lesions were extracted and voxelwise analyses of CBF abnormalities were performed. Perfusion abnormalities were found in T2lesions and in the thalamus in MS patients (SPM8, t-test p<0.005, k=20 FDR corrected p<0.05), and correlated to disability (p=0.014, rho=-0.507).

Khaled Abdel-Aziz¹, Torben Schneider¹, Marios C Yiannakas¹, Daniel Altmann¹, Claudia A.M Wheeler-Kingshott¹, Amy L Peters², Brian L Day², Alan J Thompson^1,3, and Olga Ciccarelli^1,3
1NMR Research Unit, Queen Square MS Centre, UCL institute of neurology, London, Greater London, United Kingdom, ²Sobell Department, UCL institute of neurology, London, Greater London, United Kingdom, ³NIHR UCLH-UCL Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), London, United Kingdom

Q-space imaging (QSI) is a model free diffusion weighted imaging technique sensitive to changes within lesions and normal appearing white matter in multiple sclerosis. By applying tract-specific QSI to the cervical spinal cord of patients with early primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) we have demonstrated increased perpendicular diffusion in the cervical cord suggesting the loss of axons and/or myelin barriers to diffusion in the perpendicular direction. These changes correlated with clinical scales of disability. Our results suggest spinal cord QSI is a sensitive method for detecting early pathological changes in early PPMS that are associated with clinical disability

Domenico Aquino¹, Paolo Confalonieri², Laura Brambilla², Valeria Elisa Contarino¹, Marco Moscatelli², Valentina Torri Clerici², Greta Brenna³, Vincenza Fetoni⁴, Cristina Montomoli⁵, Carlo Antozzi², Maria Grazia Bruzzone¹, Renato Mantegazza², and Alessandra Erbetta^1
1Neuroradiology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy, ²Neuroimmunology and Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy, ³Unit of Scientific Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy,⁴Department of Emergency Medicine and First Aid, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Milan, Italy, ⁵Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) can detect white matter (WM) microstructural damage and abnormalities of interconnecting tracts in Multiple Sclerosis. This study aims to investigate WM damage in the early stages of the disease by means of DTI in clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) within 3 years from the onset and to correlate DTI data with lesional load and disability. The study confirms the presence of WM damage in the very early stages of the disease. Significant differences were found between our CIS and RR groups and healthy controls. DTI metrics strongly correlated with the lesional load.

Afaf S Elsarraj¹, Daniel Rodriguez Gutierrez¹, Hamza Alshuft¹, Cris S Constantinescu², Dorothee P Auer¹, and Robert A Dineen^1
1Radiological Sciences, Division of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ²Clinical Neurology Group, Division of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Measurement of proton diffusion properties provides a potential means to quantify cortical pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS). We test the functional relevance of cortical ultrastructure as measured by mean diffusivity (MD) in MS. We perform cortical surface-based mapping of partial volume corrected MD for a cohort of 40 MS patients, with vertex-wise correlation between MD and measures of clinical and cognitive performance. Our results show statistically significant differential patterns of functionally-relevant regional cortical diffusion elevation between performance measures in different functional domains in MS.

Govind Nair¹, Katherine C Gao¹, Colin D Shea¹, Souheil J Inati¹, Luca Massacesi², and Daniel S Reich^1
1NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States, ²Neuroscience, Careggi University hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Florence, Italy

The permeability and perfusion characteristics of MS lesions change over time, as most acute enhancing lesion stop enhancing in about 2 months. This cross-sectional study used a double-echo T1-weighted gradient-echo EPI sequence to simultaneously quantify perfusion and permeability parameters in 16 MS patients. Eighteen percent of the lesions studied had non-zero permeability, even when no enhancement was appreciated in the post-contrast T1-weighted images. These lesions had a smaller plasma fraction compared to enhancing lesions, suggesting longer lasting and more varying dynamic changes to vasculature within lesions than previously understood.

Jing Zhang¹, Alex L MacKay¹, Wayne Moore^2,3, and Cornelia Laule^1,2
1Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ²Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, B.C., Canada, ³Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, B.C., Canada

This study was to compare MWF from GRASE and mcDESPOT to the conventional multi-echo spin echo method of T2 relaxation measurement in formalin fixed brain.

Amy Kuceyeski¹, Sudhin Shah², Stephan Bickel³, Nicholas Schiff², and Henning Voss^4
1Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States, ²Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States,³Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ⁴Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States

The relationship between structural (SC), functional connectivity (FC) and behavioral function is studied in 20 subjects with severe brain injury. We find that global and not local SC network measures are significantly different between patients and normals, while FC networks show significantly different local, and not global, measures when compared to normals. In addition, we show that SC in subcortical regions and the default mode network are correlated with behavioral scores in patients. The discrepancy of SC and FC network variation in patients versus normals may be due to the relative plasticity of FC networks when compared to SC networks.

Wei Liu^1,2, Karl Soderlund³, Tian Liu⁴, Justin S. Senseney^1,2, Ping-Hong Yeh^1,2, John Graner^1,2, John Ollinger^1,2, Jamie Harper^1,2, David Joy^1,2, Terrance R. Oakes^1,2, Yi Wang⁴, and Gerard Riedy^1,2
1National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, United States, ²National Capital Neuroimaging Consortium, Bethesda, Maryland, United States, ³Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, United States, ⁴Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, New York, New York, United States

Cerebral microhemorrhages in combat-related TBI patients were characterized longitudinally using SWI and QSM. Both approaches demonstrated better conspicuity on majorities of the detected microhemorrhages relative to GRE. QSM demonstrated worse conspicuity than GRE in a small portion of the microhemorrhages. Both SWI and QSM showed strong trends to detect more microhemorrhages at baseline compared to follow-ups in TBI patients. For individual microhemorrhages, both the size of microhemorrhage and total magnetic susceptibility decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up scans, suggesting a continued subtle evolution of the hemosiderin blood products on a longer time frame than was previously believed.

Lora Talley Watts¹, Justin A. Long¹, Jonathan Chemello¹, Qiang Shen¹, and Timothy Duong^1
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States

Methylene blue (MB) has energy-enhancing and antioxidant properties. MB treatment has been shown to reduce neurobehavioral impairment in Parkinson's disease and in Alzheimer’s disease in animals. This study investigated the novel neuroprotective effect of MB on mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) as measured by lesion volume, histology, and functional outcome. We found that MB treatment minimized lesion volume and functional deficits compared to vehicle-treated animals. Immunohistological staining for neuronal degeneration corroborated MRI lesion volume and behavioral data. MB has an excellent safety profile and is clinically approved for other indications. MB clinical trials on TBI can thus be readily explored.

Lora Talley Watts¹, Justin A. Long¹, Jonathan Chemello¹, Qiang Shen¹, and Timothy Duong^1
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States

Normobaric oxygen (NBO) increases brain oxygenation, thereby minimizing ischemia-like injury. The goal of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effect of normobaric oxygen (NBO) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) as measured by lesion volume and functional outcome measures. This study demonstrates that NBO exacerbates lesion volume compared to air-treated animals associated with TBI. NBO did not worsen or improve behavioral outcome measures.

Mingying Du¹, Su Lui¹, Keith Maurice Kendrick², Xiaoqi Huang¹, and Qiyong Gong^1
1West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, ²School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, sichuan, China

Little is known about the long-term impact of traumatic experience which may provide a better understanding of consequences of trauma. We have applied graph theory analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore longitudinally the progressive impact of severe stress on whole brain functional networks in physically healthy survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake within 25 days and 2-years after the earthquake. Results show that while functional connectivity changes three weeks after the disaster involved both frontal-limbic-striatal and default-mode networks, at the 2-year follow up only changes in the latter persisted, despite complete recovery from high initial levels of anxiety.

Andrew A. Maudsley¹, Varan Govind¹, Sulaiman Sheriff¹, Gaurev Saigal¹, and Bonnie Levin^2
1Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States, ²Neurology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States

Diffusion-tensor imaging has been shown to be sensitive to diffuse axonal injury that is not observed using structural MRI. The locations of DTI-observed injury vary considerably between subjects, with the result that group-wise analyses indicate few associations with cognitive outcome. In this study maps representing the probability of tissue injury are generated, for a group of subjects with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury and association of summary measures with neurocognitive measures are evaluated.

Michael Jarrett¹, Elham Shahinfard¹, Enedino Hernández-Torres¹, Alexander Wright², Jack Taunton¹, David Li¹, and Alexander Rauscher^1
1University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ²UBC Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

Traumatic brain injury is among the most common neurological disorders. Sports related injuries are a major cause of mild TBI among youth and young adults. We followed two ice hockey teams over a season and performed MRI and neuropsychological testing at pre-season and post-season and at serial timepoints following concussions. We measured changes in diffusion tensor imaging parameters using both a region of interest analysis and tract-based spatial statistics. We found evidence of brain structure changes in both concussed and non-concussed players.

Elisabetta Pagani¹, Maria A. Rocca¹, Erika Molteni², Sandra Strazzer², Giacomo Boffa¹, Monica Recla², Susanna Galbiati², Alessandra Bardoni², Giancarlo Comi³, and Massimo Filippi^1
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy,²Sci. Inst. IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, LC, Italy, ³Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy

We obtained diffusion tensor MRI scans from 16 children with severe disorders of consciousness due to non-traumatic origin and 31 controls. Measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) and diffusivity of the corpus callosum (CC) and cerebellar peduncles (CP) differed significantly between patients and controls. Fractional anisotropy values of the superior CP correlated with the score at the Glasgow Coma Scale, whereas FA values of the CC correlated with the Disability Rating Scale. These data suggest that global, rather than focal damage, contributes to the clinical severity of children with severe non-traumatic brain injury.

Gabriela Trifan¹, Ramtilak Gattu², Zhifeng Kou³, Ewart Mark Haacke^3,4, and Randall R Benson^5,6
1Center for Neurological Studies, Novi, MI, United States, ²Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ³Biomedical Engineering & Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ⁴The MRI Institute for Biomedical Research, Detroit, MI, United States, ⁵Neurology and Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ⁶Center for Neurologic Studies, NOVI, Michigan, United States

Neurocognitive and behavioral symptoms can persist for some TBI patients, despite the absence of imaging findings on routine imaging. A forensic population of 172 patients that underwent trauma imaging protocol, were divided by injury severity and imaging findings. Majority of subjects were classified as being mild, 77.3%. For each severity group the rates of positive findings in acute CT, FLAIR and SWI sequences are described. The importance of using newer imaging techniques for TBI subjects that shows persistent symptoms is highlighted.

Christian Ledig¹, Virginia Newcombe², Guy Williams³, Joanne Outtrim², Anne Manktelow², Peter Hutchinson⁴, Jonathan Coles², Daniel Rueckert⁵, and David Menon^2
1Department of Computing, Imperial College, London, London, London, United Kingdom, ²Division of Anaesthesia, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, ³Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, ⁴Academic Department of Neurosurgery, Cambridge University, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, ⁵Department of Computing, Imperial College, London, London, United Kingdom

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is clear that much of the sequelae are not just a direct consequence of the acute event represent a dynamic process with changes continuing to occur months to years after the precipitating injury. In this study, longitudinal changes in brain structures known to be important after TBI are presented. The differential effects of volume change are consistent with progressive but selective damaging effects of TBI indicating that individual regions have different vulnerabilities to the effects of injury.

Paola Valsasina¹, Maria A. Rocca¹, Sandra Strazzer², Ermelinda De Meo¹, Erika Molteni², Monica Recla², Susanna Galbiati², Alessandra Bardoni², Giancarlo Comi³, and Massimo Filippi^1
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy,²Sci. Inst. IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, LC, Italy, ³Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy

Aim of this study was to explore abnormalities of functional MRI (fMRI) activity during a sustained attention task in pediatric patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). FMRI scans were acquired from 22 pediatric TBI patients and 7 healthy controls during the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test. Compared with controls, patients had a significantly broader pattern of fMRI activation in frontal, parietal and temporal regions; however, contrary to controls, they failed to increase activity in occipito-temporal areas with increasing task difficulty. The abnormal recruitment of the attentional network might contribute to explain the attentional deficits frequently observed in pediatric TBI.

Ramtilak Gattu¹, Randall R Benson^2,3, Zhifeng Kou⁴, Gabriela Trifan³, and Ewart Mark Haacke^4,5
1Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ²Neurology and Radiology, Center for Neurologic Studies, Detroit, MI, United States,³Center for Neurologic Studies, NOVI, MI, United States, ⁴Biomedical Engineering & Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ⁵The MRI Institute for Biomedical Research, Detroit, MI, United States

27 White matter brain regions were analyzed using a semi-automated regional approach, using the DTI scalar measures, Fractional Anisotropy (FA) for controls and traumatic brain injury groups, to identify the threshold for which these regions will show decreased FA. FA maps were created from diffusion images for eighty seven controls and one hundred and eighty TBI patients that underwent trauma imaging scanning protocol. TBI population showed a negative shift in the resulting FA histograms. These regions with decreased FA can be used to differentiate between normal controls and TBI subjects.

Andrew Yue-Yun Leung¹, John Y.S. Cheng^1,2, Wing P. Chan^3,4, Ho-Ling Liu⁵, and Chun-Yen Chang^1
1Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ³College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴Department of Radiology, Wan-Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁵Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Science, Chang Gung University, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan

This study aimed to research the validity and scale of behavioral and functional change in children after six months of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training. Sixty-six subjects underwent resting-state (RS) fMRI scans and standardized exams. This study found six months of AMC training can potentially increase working memory ability, alleviate anxiety to arithmetic processing, and increase fronto-parietal connectivity correlation to visuo-motor and visuo-spatial performance. Further studies are required to evaluate the extent of these effects in prolonged training arrangements and possible ability transfer to arithmetic performance.

Yash S Shah¹ and Scott J Peltier^1
1University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Substance abuse can be described as a pattern of harmful use of any substance. It generally involves overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance like alcohol or drugs. Many imaging methods have been used to better understand the cause of addiction to these substances and to investigate the deviation from normal circumstances due to this abuse. We have tried to provide a framework for a systematic review of MR studies that have tried to explore structural as well as functional changes caused due to substance abuse.

Hatsuho Mamata¹, Valerie Jewells¹, Francisco Chiang¹, Gustavo Tedesqui¹, Daniel Mauricio Varon¹, Theeraphol Payaping¹, and Mauricio Castillo^1
1Radiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Clinical application of the susceptibility imaging is presented in this educational poster. As SWI is becoming more and more available in many of MRI scanners, its application is also becoming in wider range of the brain abnormalities. We will review SWI in addition to the other conventional sequences in 24 different categories and discuss its importance of adding helpful complementary information for the Neuroradiologists to diagnose different pathology.

Koji Kamagata¹, Masaaki Hori¹, Kohei Kamiya¹, Michimasa Suzuki¹, Akira Nishikori², Mariko Yoshida¹, Fumitaka Kumagai², Taku Hatano³, Hiroyuki Tomiyama³, Nobutaka Hattori³, and Shigeki Aoki^1
1Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Japan, ²Department of Radiological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan, ³Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Japan

Conventional MR imaging of Parkinson disease (PD) is frequently normal or nonspecific. However, advanced MR techniques, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), and arterial spin labeling (ASL) allow us to evaluate changes related to the pathophysiology of PD.1-3 The purpose of this exhibit is to review the conventional and advanced MR imaging of PD and to present some new data from ASL and DKI studies of PD.

Yulin Ge¹, Jean-Christophe Brisset¹, Youssef Zaim Wadghiri¹, and Pippa Storey^1
1Radiology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States

Susceptibility blooming effect in MRI refers to signal loss due to local field inhomogeneity that is larger than the actual size of the material that caused it. This phenomenon is more pronounced at gradient echo T2* imaging and higher field strength MR, which has great potential in detection of cerebral microbleeds or ultra-small structures or lesions with iron component (e.g. amyloid plaques). This presentation will provide quantitative information of blooming effects (i.e. size changes) that are dependent on (1) field strength, (2) pulse sequence, (3) iron concentration, (4) imaging parameters, (5) image post-processing (i.e. SWI).

Susan K Lemieux^1,2, Karen L Brown³, Jeffrey J Vesek², Christopher T Sica², Jianli Wang², and Qing X Yang^2
1School of Science Engineering and Technology, Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown, PA, United States, ²Radiology - MRI Core, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States, ³Radiology - Health Physics, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States

Temporal signal-to-noise (TSNR) and stability are critically important for clinical and research echo-planar imaging (EPI) of the brain although not always measured weekly or monthly as part of scanner quality assurance. Temporal noise from the scanner limits the detection of very small regions of interest (ROI) of fMRI activations while relatively larger activations can still be detected. To investigate the variability of scanner temporal SNR and stability, measurements were made on 7 clinical scanners. Temporal stability values are reported. Quality assurance protocols for sites that perform functional MRI scans should consider incorporating temporal SNR and stability measurements.

Jeffry R Alger^1
1Neurology, Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Tmax is a hemodynamic parameter that is derived from Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast (DSC) MRI studies. This educational presentation will be targeted at helping clinicians and technologists who are the end users of DSC MRI to understand exactly how Tmax is derived, what information it conveys and how it is related to other hemodynamic images produced by DSC MRI studies. Central DSC MRI concepts (signal change vs concentration, arterial input selection, and deconvolution) will be presented using simple diagrams without detailed mathematics. Case studies will be used to illustrate artifacts and the impact of acquisition and postprocessing parameter choices.

Miguel Martínez-Maestro¹, Maria Guidi¹, Christian Labadie¹, and Harald E. Möller^1
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

Which is the best strategy to improve shimming at high fields? This educational presentation aims to review and compare different shimming techniques based on few simple experiments on phantoms and human volunteers. Beside the well established automatic procedures, beginners may find it tempting to use manual interactive shimming at high fields to achieve better full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the spectral lineshape. But this time consuming approach requires mastering the “Ancient and Honourable Art of Shimming”.

Manoj Kumar Sarma¹, Rajakumar Nagarajan¹, Paul Michael Macey², Ravi Aysola³, and M. Albert Thomas^1
1Radiological Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²School of Nursing, UCLA School of Medicine, Los angeles, CA, United States, ³Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by repeated hypoxic episodes during sleep. Cerebrovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity can be offshoot of OSA. Advanced neuroimaging techniques, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) enable non-invasive and accurate identification of OSA-induced, structural–neurochemical changes. The goals of this study were to investigate changes in FA and MD between OSA patients and healthy controls and correlate the FA /MD values with metabolite ratios in various brain regions of OSA patients.

Fei Li¹, Shushu He², Ning He³, Xiaoqi Huang¹, Su Lui¹, Qiyong Gong¹, and Song Chen^2
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, ²State Key Laboratory of Oral Disease, Department of Orthodontics, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China,³Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is a chronic pain disorder characterized by pain in the masticatory muscles and temporomandibular joint. Functional occlusal theory considers centric relation-maximum intercuspation (CR-MI) discrepancy as a potential factor for TMD and believes that achieving CR-MI harmony after orthodontic treatment reduces the risk of development of TMD. Previous researches found TMD patients had abnormal cerebral function, however, there are few studies investigating the correlation between CR-MI discrepancy characteristics and intrinsic cerebral function. The present study aimed to explore abnormal brain function in TMD patients with CR-MI discrepancy relative to healthy controls using resting state functional MRI.

Chung-Man Moon¹ and Gwang-Woo Jeong^1,2
1Interdisciplinary Program of Biomedical Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Gwangju, Korea, ²Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea

Patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) suffer the symptoms of psychological distress including excessive and uncontrollable anxiety about everyday things. These symptoms are assumed to be related with neural dysfunction or malfunction. The purpose of this study was to investigate cerebral abnormalities in the overall gray matter (GM) volumes and metabolite concentration in patients with GAD using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and localized 1H-MR spectroscopy (MRS).

Bhaswati Roy¹, Rakesh K Gupta¹, Pradeep Kumar Gupta², Ravindra Kumar Garg², Yogita Rai³, Hardeep Singh Malhotra², and Chandra M Pandey^4
1Radiology & Imaging, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, ²Neurology, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, ³Radiodiagnosis, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, ⁴Biostatistics & Health Informatics, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

To evaluate brain changes on DTI and ASL in patient with vitamin B12 deficiency while on therapy, 16 patients(baseline and after 2-months therapy) and 16 age-and-sex matched controls were enrolled. Voxel-wise analysis and TBSS analysis were performed for comparing pre-and post-therapy changes in CBF and FA values respectively. Significant increase in CBF in GM and significant decrease in WM after therapy was observed however pre-and post-therapy FA changes were not significant. Alteration in the CBF values following treatment with no significant changes in the FA values suggest that CBF change may be an early predictor of recovery than FA.

Sho Koyasu¹, Mami Iima¹, Shigeaki Umeoka¹, Denis Le Bihan^2,3, David A. Porter⁴, and Kaori Togashi^1
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, ²Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, ³Neurospin, CEA-Saclay Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, ⁴MR PLM AW Neurology, Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany

We evaluated the feasibility of clinical application for Read-out Segmented (RS)-EPI DWI at 3T MR scanner with 32-channel head and neck coil, on both phantom study and patient study by comparing with conventional Single-Shot (SS)-EPI DWI. The RS-EPI DWI allowed a better identification of structure and provided less-distorted images than the SS-EPI DWI in head and neck area, whereas RS-EPI DWI yielded similar ADC value to SS-EPI DWI.

Hirofumi Kuno¹, Hiroaki Onaya², Kotaro Sekiya¹, Satoshi Fujii³, and Mitsuo Satake^1
1Diagnostic Radiology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, ²Diagnostic Radiology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan, ³Pathology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan

Purpose: To assess the usefulness of mandibular cross-sectional multiplanar reconstruction (CS-MPR) using 3D sequences in the preoperative evaluation of mandibular bone marrow invasion of oral carcinomas. Methods: The subjects consisted of 91 patients with primary oral SCCs. Mandibular invasion on standard 2D sequences MR images or 3D sequences images with mandibular CS-MPR was evaluated. Results: The area under the ROC curve of CS-MPR was significantly larger (P = .0024) and improve the specificity for bone marrow invasion (P= .0077). Conclusion: The mandibular CS-MPR has the potential to improve the diagnostic performance for the evaluation of mandibular invasion by SCCs.

Laura Fanea¹, James F Meaney², and Andrew J Fagan^2
1Radiology, Cluj County Emergency Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, Romania, ²National Centre for Advanced Medical Imaging, St. James’s Hospital / School of Medicine, Trinity College University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

A clinically-feasible protocol for acquiring high spatial resolution anatomical and relaxometry maps of the eye is presented and demonstrated on a volunteer cohort. Images showing three distinct retinal layers with thicknesses approaching 610 m were routinely obtained, with normative retinal layer thicknesses showing significantly thinner outer layers. Further, normative T1 values were established in eight distinct eye structures and T2 values in the vitreous humor. These techniques can be applied to diagnose and/or monitor response to existing or new therapies and/or surgery in ocular diseases.

Djaudat Idiyatullin¹, Curtis A. Corum¹, Michael Garwood¹, Zuzan Cayci², Bevan Yueh³, and Samir S. Khariwala^3
1Radiology, CMRR, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ²Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ³Department of Otolaryngology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States

Current imaging techniques are often suboptimal for the detection of mandibular invasion by squamous cell carcinoma. X-ray Computed Tomography is more suited to differentiate bone pathology but can miss fine changes to the cortex from partial voluming and artifacts. Standard MRI has excellent soft tissue contrast but cannot resolve signal from bone due to ultra-short T2 insensitivity. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of a ultra-short T2 sensitive MRI - based technique known as sweep imaging with Fourier transform (SWIFT) to visualize the structural changes of intramandibular anatomy during invasion in-vivo.

TETSURO SEKINE¹, Hirofumi Kuno², Kotaro Sekiya², and Mitsuo Satake^2
1Radiology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan, ²Diagnostic Radiology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan

We performed the VOI and ADC histogram analysis for malignant melanoma of the head and neck (MMHN) and compared these findings with keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The ADC distribution of MMHN had lower and right shifted peak than that of SCC which reflects lower MV, C10 and kurtosis. VOI and ADC histogram analysis with 3T-MRI has the potential to be useful for diagnosis of MMHN.

Eric R. Muir^1,2 and Timothy Q. Duong^1
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, United States, ²Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, United States

MRI can provide anatomy, function, and physiology all in one setting, but its application to the thin retina has remained challenging. Most previous studies of the retina with MRI focused on 2D acquisitions with one relatively thick slice. However, there is interest in mapping the entire retina instead of a single 2D slice through the center. In this study, we developed a full 3D MRI approach with approximately isotropic resolution to image anatomy, function, and blood flow of the whole mouse retina and choroid in vivo with high spatial resolution based on balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP).

Kyung K Peck¹, Ryan Branski², Cathy Lazarus³, Andrei Holodny⁴, and Dennis Kraus^5
1Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States, ²New York University, New York, United States, ³Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, United States, ⁴Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States, ⁵North Shore Health System, New York, United States

The current prospective study seeks to utilize fMRI to identify and compare in partial glossectomy patients pre and post-treatment activations during three tongue motor tasks. Of interest, it was evident that, the amount of activity in the tongue associated motor gyrus measured in the pre scan is significantly reduced compared to the scan after the tongue tumor resection. Based on the hemodynamic response analysis, the time to peak (TTP) and full width of half maximum (FWHM) of the IRF in the tongue associated motor cortex was greater with all tasks performed in the post scan. Similar to the contralateral representation of the hand motor region, this study suggests functionally what is seen clinically with unilateral lesions causing tongue deviations. The IRF analysis shows a consistent delay of TTP and widening of the hemodynamic response across all tasks.

Youngseob Seo^1
1Center for Medical Metrology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon, Korea

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been proposed as a tool to study neonatal white matter (WM) injury. However, Sensitive to study neonatal WM injury due to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) for group comparison between normal controls and HIE patients is controversial. We evaluated the clinical availability of DTI for differentiating neonates not at risk for HIE from those at risk for HIE.

Gwang-Won Kim¹ and Gwang-Woo Jeong^1,2
1Research Institute of Medical Imaging, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Chonnam, Korea, ²Department of Radiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Chonnam, Korea

Despite several studies in identifying the neural circuitry contributing to sexual orientation in the male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals, a neuro-imaging study for the relationships between sex arousal and sexual hormone in the postoperative MTF transsexuals versus premenopausal and menopausal women has not been attempted until now. The purpose of this study was to compare the brain activation patterns associated with visual sexual arousal in connection with sexual hormone levels in postoperative MTF transsexuals versus normal premenopausal and menopausal women using a 3.0 Tesla fMRI.

Evanthia Kousi¹, Maria Schmidt¹, Rafal Panek¹, Marco Borri¹, Alison MacDonald¹, Liam Welsh¹, Angela Riddell¹, Kate Newbold², and Martin Leach^1
1CR-UK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre,Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom, ²Head&Neck Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom

In this study, high resolution MRI was performed for the evaluation of the parotid glands function after continuous salivary stimulation on healthy volunteers. ADC and signal intensity on heavily T2-w images were measured before and during continuous stimulation. ADC and image intensity on HT2W images of the parotids increased after stimulation, whereas, a heterogeneous stimulation response of the gland was observed. However, no spatial correspondence was found between ADC and intensity increases in heavy T2-w images. Our results indicate that high resolution images combined with continuous stimulation of parotids is a successful strategy to achieve functional assessment at regional level.

Yoshimitsu Ohgiya¹, Syouei Sai¹, Seino Noritaka¹, Jiro Munechika¹, Makoto Saiki¹, Jumpei Suyama¹, Yui Onoda¹, Masanori Hirose¹, and Takehiko Gokan^1
1Department of Radiology, Showa University School of Medicine, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan

The purpose of this study was to compare the image quality of water-only images generated from a 3D dual-echo Dixon technique with that of standard fast spin-echo T1-weighted chemical shift fat-suppressed images for fat-suppressed contrast-enhanced imaging with a 1.5-T MR system. In conclusion, compared with standard T1-weighted fat-suppressed imaging, the Dixon technique is an effective fat suppression method for contrast-enhanced neck MRI. The Dixon technique also seemed to provide better image quality and improvement in severity of artifacts in the lower region of the neck.

Thomas Stewart Denney Jr^1,2, Mark Bolding^3,4, Ronald Beyers¹, Nouha Salibi^1,5, Ming Li^1,2, Xiaoxia Zhang^1,2, and Paul Gamlin^6
1AU MRI Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States, ²Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States, ³Department of Radiology, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States, ⁴Department of Vision Sciences, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States, ⁵MR R&D, Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, PA, United States, ⁶Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States

The mechanisms of how extraocular muscles control eye movements are not well understood, but are important in developing treatments for strabismus and other eye motion disorders. Using standard tagged cardiac MRI sequences and head coils in a 7T scanner, strain was measured in the orbital and global components of the right lateral rectus muscle under horizontal saccadic, horizontal smooth pursuit, and asymmetric convergence saccadic motions. The orbital and global layers showed differences in strain for horizontal saccadic eye movements but not for asymmetric convergence, which suggests that these layers move relatively independently and differing amounts for different horizontal eye movements.

Marzena Wylezinska-Arridge¹, Malcolm Birch¹, and Marc Miquel^1
1Clinical Physics, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom

Purpose of this work was to investigate k-t FOCUSS reconstruction to accelerate real time imaging of speech and assess it’s potential in clinical practise. Subjects were studied at 1.5T scanner to produce dynamic imaging of speech. Downsampled data created from the full k-space data sets was reconstructed using k-t FOCUSS with ME/MC [9]. No significant difference between SNR in a both soft palate and intensity time profiles measured in the fully sampled data and k-t FOCUSS reconstructions was found for both patients and control subjects.k-FOCUSS with ME/MC is a promising tool to accelerate MRI acquisition for speech assessment.

Shinji Naganawa¹ and Tsutomu Nakashima^2
1Department of Radiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, ²Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

The newly proposed 10-minute protocol (Image B, HYDROPS2-Mi2) might be feasible for the measurement of endolymphatic size after intravenous single-dose gadolinium injection. This will promote more widespread use of the MR imaging evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops by clinicians.

Vasily L. Yarnykh^1
1Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States

Macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) is a key parameter determining the magnetization transfer effect. Based on recent animal and clinical brain imaging studies, MPF has attracted significant interest as a biomarker of myelin. This study demonstrates the feasibility of quantitative MPF mapping of the human spinal cord in vivo. A recently published single-point MPF mapping method was adapted to the spinal cord imaging with improved time efficiency and SNR performance. 3D MPF maps of the human cervical spinal cord were obtained with 1x1x2 mm resolution and ~20 minutes scan time and demonstrated exceptionally strong contrast between white and gray matter structures.

Olivier M. Girard¹, Virginie Callot¹, Benjamin Robert², Novena Rangwala³, Patrick J. Cozzone¹, David C. Alsop³, and Guillaume Duhamel^1
1CRMBM, UMR 7339 CNRS-AMU, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France, ²Siemens Healthcare, Saint-Denis, France, ³Radiology Department, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

Inhomogeneous magnetization transfer (ihMT) imaging has been proposed as a new method for white matter imaging. The signal is specific to myelinated tissues and offers unique opportunity for CNS imaging. One challenge for spinal cord (SC) imaging is the pulsatility of the CSF that induces motion around the cord. This can have dramatic effect on the image quality and triggering options have to be considered. This study addresses this problem and proposes a methodology based on ECG synchronization and retrospective data filtering for fast acquisition of the SC ihMT signal, free of CSF pulsatility artifacts.

Alex K Smith^1,2, Richard D Dortch^2,3, Lindsey M Dethrage², and Seth A Smith^2,3
1Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States

The spinal cord is responsible for mediating neurological function between the brain and peripheral nervous system, and is involved in many diseases such as MS. Quantitative MRI can probe tissue microstructure, but technical hurdles exist in the spinal cord due to its small size and constant motion. qMT has been reported to be sensitive to myelin changes, and has been studied extensively in the brain, but suffers from long scan times. Utilizing a single-point qMT methodology in the cervical spinal cords of patients with MS, we derived indices reflective of myelination that we show are abnormal compared to healthy controls.

Feng Wang^1,2, Zhongliang Zu^1,2, Huixin Qi³, Chaohui Tang¹, John C. Gore^1,2, and Li Min Chen^1,2
1Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Radiology Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Psychology Department, Vanderbilt University, TN, United States

Multi-parametric MRI methods such as chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST), magnetization transfer (MT) and diffusion weighted imaging were applied to characterize spinal cord injuries (SCI) and their progression over time in anesthetized squirrel monkeys up to 24 weeks after unilateral dorsal column lesion (C4-C5). These methods are sensitive to the molecular and cellular composition of tissues. Other than the unusual high ADC and low MTR values observed for abnormal volume (AV) around the lesion site in spinal cord, significant variations of MTRasym were also observed for AV at RF offsets ~3.5, 2.2 and 1.0 ppm after lesion for the first time.

Arabinda Mishra¹, Feng Wang², John C Gore³, and Li Min Chen^3
1Radiology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Radiology, Vanderbilt University, TN, United States, ³Vanderbilt University, TN, United States

Spinal cord transfers bilateral motor and sensory information between the brain and other extremities. The structural and functional organizations of the white and gray matters in both brain and spinal cord differ remarkably. However, partly because of technical challenges involved in spinal cord imaging, it is largely unknown whether similar functional connectivity exists and is detectable using functional MRI. Using ultra-high filed (9.4T), we performed an ROI based analysis of resting state BOLD MRI signals in anesthetized monkeys. Our results support that there exist differential intrinsic functional connectivity networks within the primate spinal cord, which is detectable and observable.

Moreno Pasin¹, Marios Yiannakas¹, Hugh Kearney¹, Ahmed Toosy², and Claudia A. M. Wheeler-Kingshott^1
1NMR Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom

We investigated correlations between functional and diffusion data in the spinal cord in patients affected by Multiple Sclerosis. Four healthy controls and four MS patients participated in this study. Sensory stimulus was applied and activations were found in all subjects. Greater lateralization index (LI) in MS patients was significantly associated with lower posterior column white matter fractional anisotropy (PCWM-FA) and higher EDSS. Controls did not show a significant relation between LI and PCWM-FA. PCWM-FA showed less variance in controls than MS patients. This pilot study reports significant correlations between fMRI and diffusion data, albeit with small sample sizes.

Theresia I. Yiallourou¹, Mark Luciano², Francis Loth³, Alexander C. Bunck⁴, Nikolaos Stergiopulos¹, and Bryn A. Martin^5
1Laboratory of Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Technology, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, Lausanne, --None--, Switzerland, ²Department of Neurological Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, United States, ³Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States, ⁴Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Cologne, Germany, ⁵Conquer Chiari Research Center, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States

Detailed understanding of the pulsatile motion of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and its importance to maintain brain health still remains enigmatic. 4D PC MRI flow measurements allow evaluating the complexities of the CSF flow patterns in diseases such as Chiari I Malformation. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have provided detailed information about the CSF flow field. The first comparison of 4D PC MRI measurements to CFD of CSF flow in the craniocervical junction has recently been employed. This study aims to assess the inter-operator variability of the 3D rigid wall CFD simulations of the CSF flow in the craniocervical junction.

I-Wen Evan Chen¹, Wolfram Tetzlaff^2,3, Jie Liu², Alexander Rauscher^1,4, and Piotr Kozlowski^1,4
1MRI Research Center, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ²International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ³Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ⁴Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Sources of strong white and gray matter (WM, GM) contrast obtained in gradient echo phase images of brain and spinal cord have been attributed to factors such as: iron, local bulk tissue magnetic susceptibility, and local tissue microstructure (and fiber orientation). Our results suggest that in-vivo assessment of (several) different spinal cord injuries is possible with frequency shift mapping due to its sensitivity to changes in tissue microstructure, local bulk tissue magnetic susceptibility, and presence of iron.

J Cohen-Adad^1,2, C Triantafyllou², and L L Wald^2,3
1Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada, ²A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, United States, ³Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, MIT, MA, United States

We evaluated two strategies to increase the temporal SNR in spinal cord fMRI time series: 1) Averaging high resolution data through plane compared to directly acquiring data with thick slices and 2) Acquiring data with cardiac gating. Results suggest that averaging high-resolution data does not significantly increase the tSNR, however the thin-slice acquisition reduces intravoxel dephasing, therefore preventing signal loss at the level of intervertebral disks. Cardiac gating showed marginal increase in tSNR, however the method is hampered by a longer acquisition time and the difficulty of correcting additional variance caused by T1 effects.

Mohamed Tachrount¹, Andrew Davies², Kenneth Smith², Xavier Golay¹, and David L Thomas^1
1Department of brain repair and rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, Greater London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Neuroinflammation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, Greater London, United Kingdom

New approach based on a combination of conventional and adiabatic spatially selective RF pulses which makes use of narrowed selected VOI and shortened TE is described and preliminary results of the rat lumbar SC Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) were presented.

Chen-Hao Wu^1,2, Yu-Jen Chen², Yun-Chin Hsu², Yu-Chun Lo², Tzung-Jeng Hwang³, Hai-Go Hwu³, Chung-Ming Chen¹, and Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng^1,2
1Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan, ²Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan, ³Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan

Alteration of white matter tract integrity was reported in siblings of schizophrenia patients in several studies using voxel-based analysis (VBA). Some studies suggested that tract-specific analysis (TSA) may be more specific and reliable than VBA. However, manual tractography, which is currently the main-stream approach, is time consuming and not feasible for analyzing whole brain tracts. In this study, we proposed a new method to perform tract-specific analysis over the whole brain, named tract-based automatic analysis (TBAA), using a diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) template and a tract atlas. Using this method, we assessed the entire brain white matter tracts and searched for potential white matter tracts which could represent a possible endophenotype of schizophrenia. We hypothesized that the potential endophenotype of white matter tracts showed altered integrity in both patients and siblings, and the alteration had a gradation of differences from patients, siblings to contols.

Fei Li¹, Yuanyuan Li², Ning He², Xiaoqi Huang¹, Su Lui¹, Lanting Guo², and Qiyong Gong^1
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, chengdu, sichuan, China, ²Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, chengdu, sichuan, China

To our knowledge, the exploration of working memory-related brain activation using the CN-BT has not been previously reported in children and adolescents with ADHD. In addition to having activation within the sensory-motor pathways and the striato-cerebellum circuit similar to that of healthy controls with related visual-object and action cognitive strategies, the ADHD patients also showed task-negative activation in the fronto-cingulate-parietal network involved in working memory. Additionally, the higher activation of the bilateral globus pallidus and right hippocampus in ADHD patients compared to healthy controls revealed an important role in the pathophysiology of ADHD related to working memory.

Minhui Ouyang¹, Hua Cheng², Gaolang Gong³, Matt Mosconi^4,5, John Sweeney^4,5, Yun Peng², and Hao Huang^1
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, ²Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, ³State key laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, ⁴Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, ⁵Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States

The majority of the studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the white matter (WM) integrity in the autistic brains have been focusing on the age range from mid-childhood to adolescence. In this study, we hypothesized that the growth trajectories of the microstructural metrics of WM tracts from 2 to 7 years of age is different between autistic and normal children, and these differences are widespread to limbic, commissural, association and project tract groups. To test these hypotheses, high quality DTI of totally 51 children was acquired and trajectories of DTI metrics of all WM voxels were examined.

Shruti Gopal^1,2, Robyn Miller¹, Andrew Michael¹, Mustafa Cetin¹, Srinivas Rachakonda¹, Stefi Baum², and Vince Calhoun^1
1The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, United States, ²Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States

The ability of independent vector analysis(IVA) to preserve subject variability among network spatial maps brings additional power to analyses of group differences between healthy and patient populations for disorders in which specific brain structures are believed to play critical roles. We demonstrate the benefits of IVA over group ICA in what we believe is the first application of IVA to a clinical population. Our results indicate that IVA is not only effective in identifying the networks relevant to Schizophrenia such as basal ganglia, superior temporal gyrus, visual cortex and the sensorimotor network, but is also demonstrably better at differentiating schizophrenia patients from controls based exclusively on easily-assessed properties of the network spatial maps.

Jonathan Dudley^1,2, Melissa DelBello¹, Stephen Strakowski^1,2, Cal Adler^1,2, Elizabeth Fugate², Wen-Jang Chu^1,2, and Jing-Huei Lee^1,3
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ²Center for Imaging Research, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ³Center for Imaging Research, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, O, United States

The white mater (WM) bioenergentic and phospholipid metabolisms in adolescents with bipolar disoder were investigated. The approach of this study used tissue regression analysis of 31P MRSI data based on tissue contents that were obtained by SPM5 segmentation of MDEFT images. The results showed that, in addition to the gray matter (GM), WM illustrated abnormality both in bioenergentic and phospholipid metabolism in cerebrum, particularly in the frontal lobe. No differences between groups were found for phospholipids in GM for any regions. Altered phospholipid metabolism in frontal lobe WM suggests disruption of the anterior limbic network.

Nathan L Hutcheson¹, Karthik R Sreenivasan², Gopikrishna Deshpande^2,3, David M White¹, and Adrienne C Lahti^1
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States, ²AU MRI Research Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States, ³Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States

Previous studies about connectivity within the visual-motor network in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) has shown altered functional connectivity, but critical information regarding the directionality of these connections are unknown. In this study we utilized fMRI data analyzed using dynamic Granger causality to map the connectivity within the visual-motor network in healthy controls (HC) and SZ. We found that HC had stronger unidirectional connections projecting from the visual cortex to motor areas than SZ. Our results replicate previous connectivity findings in HC and show novel connectivity disruptions in SZ during the performance of a visual-motor paradigm.

Hua-Shan Liu*¹, Gregory K. Bartley*², John D. Herrington², Benjamin E. Yerys², John A. Detre¹, and Robert T. Schultz^2
1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with abnormalities in brain areas associated with social information processing, including multiple temporal lobe regions. Although a number of ASD functional MRI studies have established decreased temporal lobe activation in contrasts of social information processing tasks versus control, almost no studies have examined region-specific differences in absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF). Pseudo-continuous ASL data were collected in 33 participants with ASD and 26 typically developing controls (TDCs). Decreased CBF in ASD was observed in multiple temporal lobe areas associated with social information processing including amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus. These results suggest that core deficits in ASD may be mediated by deficits in blood flow in and around brain areas associated with social intelligence.

Fei Li¹, Ning He², Yuanyuan Li², Xiaoqi Huang¹, Su Lui¹, Lanting Guo², and Qiyong Gong^1
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, ²Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by age-inappropriate degrees of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The specific neuropsychological dysfunction underlying atypical brain structure remains poorly understood. ADHD patients often exhibit deficiencies in cognitive function. A link to executive dysfunction is central to models involving aberrant fronto-subcortical circuits; however, there has been much debate about what core deficit of brain structure might cause the impairments of ADHD. The aims of the present study were to define, in children and adolescents with ADHD, abnormalities of grey matter volume, and to explore the association between these alterations of brain structure and executive dysfunction.

Fuchun Lin¹, Yasong Du², Yan Zhou³, Jianrong Xu³, and Hao Lei^1
1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics & Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China, ²Shanghai Mental Health Center, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai, Shanghai, China, ³RenJi Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai, Shanghai, China

Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) was used to investigate seven resting-state functional networks associated with cingulate subregions (sACC, oACC, dACC, MCC, dPCC, vPCC and RSC) in adolescent students with Internet addiction disorder (IAD). These functional networks involve multiple cortical, subcortical, insula, parietal regions that are known to engage in emotional generation and processing, executive attention, decision making, and cognitive control. Although both the IAD subjects and controls show similar FC patterns for seven cingulate subregions, however, IAD had altered connectivity strength for every cingulate subregion except the RSC. Moreover, the strength of rsFC between dPCC and PHG was negatively correlated with SCARED, and the strength of rsFC between vPCC and SFG was negatively correlated with YIAS. Our findings suggest that rsFC may be used as a qualified biomarker to understand the underlying neural mechanisms or to evaluate the effectiveness of specific early interventions in IAD.

Yi Liao¹, Xiaoqi Huang¹, Junmei Hu², Shiguang Li¹, Xinyu Hu¹, Qi Liu¹, Lizhou Chen¹, and Qiyong Gong^1
1Huaxi MR Research Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, ²School of Basic Science and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Low-frequency (0.01¨C0.08 Hz) fluctuations of the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signal in resting state fMRI data are thought to reflect spontaneous neural activity. We aim to perform a functional MRI to detect the neural activity abnormalities in schizophrenia patients with severely violent behavior.Compared with the healthy control group, the violent schizophrenia group demonstrated significant ALFF reductions in various brain regions including the left supplementary motor area, right paracentral lobule, right thalamus and bilateral lingual gyrus. The correlation of ALFF value and clinical and behavioral scales were also conducted to explain the possible mechanism underlying the special subgroup of schizophrenia.

Letizia Casiraghi^1,2, Chiara Pesola³, Fabrizio Esposito^4,5, Carol Di Perri², and Francesco Di Salle^4,5
1Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ²Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS C. Mondino, Pavia, Italy, ³Department of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, ⁴Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi (SA), Italy,⁵Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability with early onset and variable developmental trajectory. Nowadays a standard pattern of resting state Functional Connectivity (FC) alteration in ASD is not defined. We used ICA analysis on ASD and tipically developing subjects in order to test the influence of methodological choices on results and to investigate the differences in FC focusing on the Default Mode Network (DMN). Our study outlines the presence of both hypo- and hyper- FC within the DMN in ASD children.

Yu-Chun Lo¹, Susan Shur-Fen Gau^2,3, and Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng^1,3
1Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, ³Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders with language-communication deficit as one of the core symptoms. Patients with high-functioning autism show worse performance than neurotypicals in complex language tasks such as comprehension and inference. According to previous studies, attention impairments are the key cognitive deficits leading to autism symptomatology, including language deficits. In this study, we found dual pathways involved not only language but also attention in ASD, suggesting that the roles of the dual pathways differ between neurotypicals and ASD.

Yan Li¹, Angela Jakary¹, Daniel H Mathalon^2,3, and Sarah J Nelson^1,4
1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ²Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ³Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco, California, United States, ⁴Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, university of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of glutamate, glutamine, γ-aminobutyric acid, glutathione and glycine in patients with schizophrenia to those in healthy controls using 3D short-echo MRSI at 7 Tesla.

Ariane Orosz¹, Leila Soravia¹, Kay Jann², Roland Wiest³, Thomas Dierks¹, and Andrea Federspiel^1
1Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Bern, Switzerland, ²Department of Neurology, UCLA, Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Los Angeles, California, United States, ³Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital/Inselspital, Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Neuroimaging insights into the neuronal mechanisms underlying effective treatment of spider phobia may provide important information for treatment of anxiety disorders. In this study we measured 15 patients with spider phobia before and after cognitive behavior therapy using arterial spin labeling. As the stress-hormone cortisol is supposed to reduce phobic fear in anxiety disorder, the patients were assigned to receive either cortisol or placebo in addition to psychotherapy in a double-blind study design. We could show that successful psychotherapy is associated with a significant decrease in CBF in the prefrontal cortex. Cortisol further decreases CBF in this region.

Daniele Procissi¹, Kathleen Anne Williams¹, Neha Mehta^2,3, Lei Wang^1,2, and Eva E redei^2,3
1Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States, ²Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States, ³Norman and Helen Asher Center for the Study of Depressive Disorders, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common disease with unknown etiology. Functional connectivity networks have been found to be dysregulated in depression, but the cause of these anomalies has not yet been elucidated. Animal models of MDD have topological properties of functional connectivity which are conserved between humans and rodents. This study aims at identifying aberrant connectivity patterns using fMRI using a genetic rat model of MDD . By comparing the MDD model Wistar More Immobile with its control Wistar Less Immobile we aim at pinpointing differences in connectivity which reflect the genetic and behavior findings previously reported in literature.

Austin Ouyang¹, Benson Irungu², Marsal Sanches², Hao Huang¹, and Jair C Soares^2
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, ²University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States

Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the most potentially disabling mental disorders, associated with high rates of psychological suffering, marked functional and economic impact, and elevated risk of suicide. Over the last two decades, neuroimaging studies have provided valuable information on the pathophysiology of this condition. In this study, DTI has been applied to a relatively large cohort of patient group (49 patients and 28 age-matched controls) to find if disruption of WM is widespread covering four functionally distinct tract groups and if myelin loss constitutes the major neuropathology associated with BD.

Gabriele Ende¹, Markus Sack¹, Julia van Eijk¹, Traute Demirakca², Wofgang Weber-Fahr², Derik Hermann³, Ulrich Frischknecht⁴, and Karl Mann^3
1NeuroImaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany, ²NeuroImaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Germany, ³Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany, ⁴Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Germany

MRI and MRS data of 38 alcohol dependent patients on the first day of withdrawal and 41 healthy controls were analyzed regarding their relation to gamma-glutamyltransferase (gGT) and the body mass index (BMI). Our BMI findings corroborate recent reports on GM volume and BMI: BMI correlates negatively with brain volume in healthy controls but shows a positive correlation in alcohol dependent patients.We further find a negative correlation of gGT with GM and a positive correlation with mI in both groups. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a positive correlation of mI with gGT.

Jonathan Dudley^1,2, James Eliassen^1,2, Elizabeth Fugate², Wen-Jang Chu^1,2, and Jing-Huei Lee^1,2
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ²Center for Imaging Research, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

The gray mater (GM) bioenergentic metabolisms in patients with bipolar disoder (BD) were investigated. Tissue regression analysis of 31P MRSI data was performed based on tissue contents that were obtained by SPM5 segmentation of MDEFT images. The results showed that dependence on age was significantly different in GM between BD and healthy control groups for concentrations of inorganic phosphate (p = 0.0032), phosphocreatine (p = 0.0029), and adenosine triphosphate (p = 0.0176). This implies that neuronal bioenergetic abnormality increases in severity with duration of illness.

Li-Kuang Yang^1,2, Yu-Jen Chen³, Issac Wen-Yih Tseng^3,4, and Susan Shur-Fen Gau^2,4
1Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical Center Tri-Service General Hospital, Beitou Branch, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ³Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) lasts to adulthood with recent evidence of widespread brain abnormalities. Diffusion imaging studies have revealed disturbed white matter microstructure integrity in several brain regions. As the first study to examine the integrity using diffusion spectrum imaging in adults with ADHD, we aimed to identify the fiber tracts which can distinguish adults with ADHD from healthy adults. Using a novel tract-based automatic analysis among 47 adults with ADHD and 48 healthy controls, 13 tracts, mainly located in fornix, corpus callosum, fronto-striatal tracts, and thalamo-cortical tracts could be identified. The two groups were found to have differential neurocorrelates with correlation and prediction to attention performance.

Arjun Sethi¹, Duncan Fowler¹, Jessica Eccles¹, Valerie Voon², Hugo Critchley¹, Mara Cercignani^1,3, and Neil Harrison^1
1Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Brighton, Sussex, United Kingdom, ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, ³Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia, Italy

Reward processing is dependent on dopaminergic activity, and it has been found to be affected in attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). In this fMRI study, we seek to establish the effect of dopaminergic medication on novelty processing and reward prediction in ADHD. Patients were scanned twice, on their usual medication and on placebo. Participants engaged in a ‘three-armed bandit’ task with novelty manipulation, and their choices were fitted by a temporal-difference learning model to estimate their prediction error. The activity of the ventral-striatum correlated with the prediction error, with preliminary evidence suggesting that such activity is modulated by the drug.

Harald Kugel¹, Nils Opel², Ronny Redlich², Peter Zwanzger², Dominik Grotegerd², Volker Arolt², Walter Heindel¹, Carsten Konrad³, and Udo Dannlowski^2,3
1Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ³Department of Psychiatry, University of Marburg, Marburg, He, Germany

This fMRI study investigates the frequently reported smaller volume of the hippocampus in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to healthy controls. Reduced hippocampus volumes have also been reported for subjects affected by childhood maltreatment, independently of a diagnosis of MDD. The analysis of our morphometric measurements revealed that while childhood maltreatment was associated with hippocampal volume loss in both, patients and healthy controls, there was no longer a difference between the groups if maltreatment was regressed out. This may provide an alternative explanation for limbic structural alterations in depressed patients.

Prantik Kundu¹, Mike Irvine², Petra Vertes², Peter Bandettini¹, Ed Bullmore², and Valerie Voon^2
1NIMH, Bethesda, MD, United States, ²Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom

We present a novel atlas of group-level seed-based functional connectivity based on multi-echo (ME) fMRI datasets from a large cohort of normal controls (N=139), with connectivity estimation by ME independent coefficients regression (ICR). We demonstrate compelling cortical and subcortical seed-based connectivity maps, alongside power analyses showing optimal sample sizes for assessing specific seed-target connectivity, such as between orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus. These results add to recent findings of 4-fold increases in tSNR after ME-ICA BOLD denoising, and are relevant to groups currently acquiring ME data or considering doing so.

Xue Zhang¹, Qianqian Zhang¹, Xiaoyue Chen², Xuesong Li³, and Lihong Wang^1
1Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Beijing, China, ²Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Beijing, China, ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Beijing, China

How different mental states impact on resting state functional fluctuation is a big concern for clinical application of resting state fMRI. In this study, we induced restful mental state using a mindful breathing task and stressful mental state using two stressful tasks, the mathematic mental loading task and speech preparation task. Our results revealed significant changes in resting-state low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) post versus pre each of these tasks. The changes were not contributed to test-retest reliability, which warrants careful interpretation of resting state fMRI results.

Lei Li¹, Du Lei¹, Xueling Suo¹, Fenglai Xiao², Min Wu¹, Xiaoqi Huang¹, and Qiyong Gong^1
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hosipital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, ²West China Hosipital of Sichuan University, Department of Neurology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

We included 88 PTSD patients and 91 matched survivors without PTSD suffering from a severe earthquake for DTI assessment. Besides voxel-based analysis, we also conducted an exploratory research by searching for the correlations between all possible pairs of affected white matter regions to detect the altered pattern of interregional correlations of microstructural abnormalities in PTSD. Our results demonstrated the white matter abnormality in frontal-temporal system and putative correlations between these two areas. Moreover, the absence of positive correlation between prefrontal regions and precuneus in our results may suggest a potential disruption of the central executive network in PTSD patients.

Hua-Shan Liu¹, Hui Shen¹, Yu Luo¹, Hanbing Lu¹, Yun Wang¹, and Yihong Yang^1
1National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States

We applied the SWI technique in a rat stroke model to quantitatively investigate cerebral angiogenesis after stroke with Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) treatment. Our data demonstrated that SWI identifies cerebral angiogenesis in areas surrounding the infarction, and CART treatment enhances angiogenesis than that of the saline treated rats.

Lora Talley Watts¹, Shiliang Huang¹, Qiang Shen¹, Justin Alexander Long¹, Wei Li¹, and Timothy Duong^1
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States

This study examined longitudinally the rsfMRI changes following a 45-min MCAO in rats up to 28 days. Quantitative correlations were made with T2, DTI, fractional anisotropy (FA), and functional outcomes (forelimb placement asymmetry and foot fault scores). rsfMRI z-scores reduced after MCAO but improved with time. The trend of improvement parallels those of behavioral scores. rsfMRI did not significantly correlate with ADC, FA and T2 changes, suggesting they provide complementary information. This study demonstrated that rsfMRI offers novel insight into functional connectivity following MCAO.

Qinbo Deng¹, Min Qiao², Tadeusz Foniok³, Dave Rushforth³, and Ursula I Tuor^2,4
1University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ²Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ³Experimental Imaging Centre, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ⁴Cl Neurosciences and Radiology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Recovery from an initial mild ischemic insult could influence the susceptibility of the brain to a second insult. We assessed brain damage using magnetic resonance imaging and histology comparing brain damage produced by a combination of two mild transient ischemic insults with intervals of either 1 day, 2 day, 3 day or 1 week. A recurrent mild PT enhanced the tissue damage and this enhancement was greater with a short recovery (1-3d) versus a longer recovery (1w) between insults. This indicates that brain is most susceptible to a second mild ischemic insult for several days after a first insult.

Carole Berthet¹, Lijing Xin², Corine Benakis¹, Rolf Gruetter^2,3, Lorenz Hirt¹, and Hongxia Lei^4,5
1Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ²LIFMET, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ³Univesity of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ⁴CIBM-AIT, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ⁵University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Thrombolysis, the only currently available treatment for ischemic stroke can be administered only in a narrow time window of 4.5 hours. A significant number of patients have an unknown time of onset as the stroke occurred during their sleep, which disqualifies them for thrombolysis. The objective of this study was to determine whether 1H MRS of the ischemic striatum could provide useful information on the estimation of the onset time of cerebral ischemia.

Suryanarayana Umesh Rudrapatna¹, Arend Hamming^1,2, Marieke J H Wermer², Annette van der Toorn¹, and Rick M Dijkhuizen^1
1University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ²Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

Gradient-echo and diffusion-weighted scans have been used to assess spreading depolarizations (SD) in the brain, a pathophysiological phenomenon implicated in various neurological disorders. We evaluated two alternative MRI techniques, b-SSFP and diffusion-weighted multi-spin-echo (DT2), in their potential to improve detection and characterization of SD in rat brain. b-SSFP, with underpinning spin-echo contrast, demonstrated higher spatiotemporal specificity than gradient-echo scanning. DT2 scanning, with the ability to concurrently measure hemodynamic (T₂) and cellular changes (ADC), was shown to offer a multi-parametric means to gain insights into co-occurring vascular and cellular changes during SD.

Chien-Hsiang Huang^1,2, Chiao-Chi V. Chen¹, Yi-Hua Hsu¹, and Chen Chang^1
1Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Select, Taiwan, ²Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan

Identifying the arteries and veins is critical for diagnosis and prognosis in certain brain diseases. A dual-echo sequence has been proposed to visualize arteries by inflow effect and veins by BOLD effect. This study aimed to improve the sensitivity of arteries and veins in the dual-echo sequence by using the carbogen challenge to enhance both inflow and BOLD effects. This newly proposed technique is named carbogen-challenged dual-echo magnetic resonance angiography (CD-MRA). A stroke model was used to demonstrate its ability to reveal vessels in a pathological condition.

Edward S Hui¹ and Andy Y Shih^2
1The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ²Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is frequently found in patients with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Microinfarcts are hallmarks of SVD, and their gradual accumulation in the brain is strongly correlated with cognitive impairment. Microinfarcts may be useful biomarkers for early detection of cognitive decline. The objective of this study is to investigate spatiotemporal changes in MRI signals associated with murine microinfarcts using DKI. Our preliminary results indicate that microinfarcts are only visible over a short duration (3 days) after vascular occlusion. Methods to prolong and enhance the visibility of microinfarcts will be useful to improve detection in humans.

Zamir Merali¹, Jackie Leung¹, and Andrea Kassner^1,2
1Physiology and Experimental Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The platelet-derived growth factor inhibitor, Imatinib, has been shown to reduce blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in a variety of neurologic conditions. However, the clinical utility of this type of treatment for ischemic stroke is still uncertain. We proposed to use structural and DCE-MRI to quantify the BBB stabilizing effect of Imatinib in a rodent stroke model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=25) underwent MCA occlusion-perfusion surgery and was imaged at 5 and 24 hours. Treatment group rats received Imatinib while controls received an equivalent volume of saline. At 24-hours, the Imatinib group had reduced infarct size and permeability compared to controls.

Leon C. Ho^1,2, Hongmin Yun³, Seong-Gi Kim^1,4, Ed X. Wu², Yiqin Du³, and Kevin C. Chan^1,3
1Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, ³Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, ⁴Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Dept. of Biological Sci, SKKU, Suwon, Korea

Glaucoma is a slow, irreversible neurodegenerative disease of the visual system, whose disease mechanisms are still poorly understood. Using a mouse model of laser-induced chronic ocular hypertension mimicking chronic glaucoma in humans, this study applied diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the microstructural integrity spatially along the visual pathways. The results appeared to indicate the involvement of Wallerian-like anterograde degeneration as a candidate of the disease mechanisms of chronic ocular hypertension in the brain, with different progressive rates of neurodegenerative events occurring along the visual pathways.

Dardo Tomasi¹, Annabelle Belcher², Cecil Chern-Chyi Yen³, Lucia Notardonato², Thomas J. Ross², Yihong Yang², Elliot A. Stein², Nora D. Volkow², and Afonso C Silva^3
1NIAAA-IRP, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States, ²NIDA-IRP, National Institutes of Health, MD, United States, ³NINDS-IRP, National Institutes of Health, MD, United States

Resting-State Functional Connectivity (RSFC) is an emerging method to study the organization of large-scale brain networks; yet appropriate animal models (nonhuman primates) are hampered by the requirement for anesthesia. Here we present fMRI data from 6 male marmosets trained for awake fMRI procedures. Utilizing an ultrafast, data-driven method to identify local functional connectivity hubs in humans, we found that the marmoset brain possesses several connectivity hubs; primarily in visual, parietal, and frontal cortical areas—regions that overlap well with the connectivity hubs found in the human brain. We submit the awake marmoset as an important tool for exploring RSFC questions.

Kaundinya Gopinath¹, Kevin Murnane², Eric Maltbie², and Leonard Howell^2,3
1Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ²Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ³Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

Cocaine addiction is characterized by alternating cycles of abstinence and relapse and loss of control drug consumption. We examined three female rhesus monkeys in prolonged abstinence following a long history of cocaine consumption with resting state fMRI. The results showed that acute cocaine administration selectively impaired top-down prefrontal circuits that control behavior while sparing connectivity of striatal areas within circuits related to cocaine abuse. Importantly, impaired connectivity between prefrontal and striatal areas during abstinence predicted cocaine consumption during relapse. Thus, loss of fronto-striatal connectivity may be a critical mechanism underlying the cycles of abstinence and relapse that characterize cocaine addiction.

Da Shi^1,2, Su Xu¹, Jiachen Zhuo¹, Mary C. McKenna^2,3, and Rao P. Gullapalli^1,2
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most commonly inherited form of mental retardation and effects 1:5000 males. Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy has only recently employed to study FXS and the Fmr1^-/- mouse model. Magnetization transfer (MT) imaging in both gray and white matter regions of the developing Fmr1^-/- mouse revealed reduced MT ratio compared to wild type controls. The reduction of MT ratio in the developingFmr1^-/- mouse in white matter may reflect a delay in myelination, while reduction in gray matter may indicate decrease in protein concentration.

Su Xu¹, Da Shi¹, Stephen JP Pratt², Wenjun Zhu¹, Andrew Marshall¹, and Richard M Lovering^2
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Department of Orthopaedics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked disorder characterized by progressive wasting of skeletal muscles and, in some patients, cognitive impairment. DMD is caused by the lack of dystrophin. To date the knowledge about dystrophin function is derived from studies of dystrophin-deficient animals, with the most common model being the mdx mouse. We studied the brains of one-year-old mdx mice in vivo and report enlarged lateral ventricles and elevations in glutathione and taurine in the hippocampus. Such findings indicate a structural change, an altered cellular antioxidant defenses and a perturbed osmoregulation in the brain due to the lack of dystrophin.

Devashish Das¹, Chi-Un Choe², Malte Stockebrand², Andor Veltien¹, Houshang AmiriDoumari¹, Dirk Isbrandt², and Arend Heerschap^1
1Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ²Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

In human, mutations in creatine transporter (CrT) gene can damage brain microstructure, and thereby corrupts its function. A variety of genetic and Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) tools are available for diagnosis of CrT patients. Despite which the onset of brain damage in human cannot be predicted. We independently developed CrT-KO mice for delineating those molecular and physiological mechanisms, which remain unexplained in previous MRI-studies on CrT patients.

James Martin O'Callaghan¹, Jack Wells¹, Karin Shmueli^1,2, and Mark Lythgoe^1
1Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, UCL, London, UK, United Kingdom, ²Medical Physics and Bioengineering, UCL, UK, United Kingdom

Quantitative susceptibility mapping(QSM) has been shown to be sensitive to iron concentrations in the brain as well as myelination of white matter. We present the first steps towards generating a QSM atlas of the invivo mouse brain for application in models of neurodegeneration.

Firat Kara^1,2, Reinhard Schliebs³, Stephan Roßner³, Annemie van der Linden¹, Huub J.M. Groot², and A. Alia^2,4
1Bio-imaging Lab, Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, ²Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Gorlaeus Laboratoria, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, ³Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany, ⁴Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

In this longitudinal study, we monitored in vivo magnetic resonance transverse relaxation time (T2) changes in the corpus callosum of the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease at 10, 12, 16, and 18 months of age. Our results showed significant elongation of in vivo T2 values in the corpus callosum of Tg2576 mice compared to wild-type mice at all studied ages. Our results suggest that demyelinating and inflammatory pathology may lead to prolonged relaxation times and can mark an early event during AD progression. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal in vivo T2 study assessing microstructural changes in the CC of the Tg2576 mice.

Luisa Altabella¹, Francesca Zoratto^1,2, Giovanni Laviola¹, Walter Adriani¹, and Rossella Canese^1
1Cell Biology and Neurosciences Dept., Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy, ²Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy

LP211 is a selective agonist of serotonin receptor 7 (5-HT7) that shows consistent psychoactive effects onto exploratory motivation, anxiety-related profiles, and spontaneous circadian rhythm. Using pharmacological MRI, we detected different responses to acute LP211 in adult rats as function of a previously adolescent treatment with the same drug, possibly due to modification of 5-HT7 receptor distribution and/or level of expression as well as potential rearrangement of forebrain networks.

Nikolett Hegedüs¹, Pál Kocsis², Dávid Gajári², Szabolcs Dávid², Levente Deli², Zsófia Pozsgay², and Károly Tihanyi^2
1Gedeon Richter Plc., Budapest, Hungary, ²Gedeon Richter Plc., Hungary

The effective treatment of cognitive decline is still a major challenge of the drug research. Scopolamine based small animal phMRI provocation model can be a suitable translational method for testing new compounds. Scopolamine strongly decreased the BOLD responses in the PFC but had no visible effect in other brain areas. Scopolamine’s effect could be fully prevented with the donepezil pretreatment, whereas vinpocetin and piracetam caused a partial reversal of the BOLD responses only. The new vinpocetin derivative RG compound exerted partial effect also, but its effective dose was much lower than that of the reference compound donepezil.

Hongxia Lei^1,2, Frederic Preitner³, Bernard Thorens³, and Rolf Gruetter^2,3
1University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ²CIBM-AIT, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ³University of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland

Glucose is essential to maintain normal brain function and glucose transporters (GLUTs) are key elements to facilitate glucose supplies in brain. The aim is to study the roles of GLUT isoform 2 (GLUT2) on hypoglycemia activation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) by investigating mice without expressing GLUT2 (GLUT2-/-) using one of perfusion imaging techniques, the CASL technique, at 9.4T. The diminished CBF responses upon hypoglycemia in these mice suggested that GLUT2 mediated hypoglycemia activation of CBF.

Josiane YANKAM NJIWA¹, Rolf Heckemann², Nicolas Costes³, Sandrine Bouvard^3,4, Caroline Bouillot³, Luc Zimmer^3,4, and Alexander Hammers^5
1Neurodis Foundation, Lyon, Rhone alpes, France, ²University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Gothenburg, Sweden, ³CERMEP-Imagerie du vivant, Lyon, France, ⁴Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Lyon, France, ⁵Neurodis Foundation, lyon, Rhone, France

Accurate image registration that enables comparisons within and between subjects and determination of how regions are affected by pathological or physiological processes remains challenging. Automated multi-atlas based approaches have been proposed for the human brain. They provide highly accurate structural segmentations by propagating manual delineations from multiple atlases and consolidating them in the space of a target image. The aim of this work was to develop a corresponding method for automatically defining ROIs on MR images of rat brains. Visual assessments confirmed the success of the segmentation method on normal as well as on pathological MR rat brain images.

Teodora-Adriana Perles-Barbacaru¹, Emilie Pecchi¹, Monique Bernard¹, Patrick J Cozzone¹, and Angele Viola^1
1CRMBM UMR CNRS 7339, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France

Increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier has been suggested as one of the pathophysiological mechanisms in cerebral malaria, an encephalopathy caused by Plasmodium infection. Here, we quantified the spatial and temporal occurrence of endothelial permeability to Gd-DOTA in vivo during progression to cerebral malaria in a mouse model using dynamic MRI at 11.75T. Abnormal permeability appeared simultaneously with the first clinical signs and was quantitatively related to their severity. Spatial differences were observed with olfactive regions displaying the highest permeability. Quantitative mapping of the endothelial permeability by MRI can be used for follow-up and treatment monitoring.

Teodora-Adriana Perles-Barbacaru¹, Emilie Pecchi¹, Monique Bernard¹, Patrick J Cozzone¹, and Angele Viola^1
1CRMBM UMR CNRS 7339, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France

Although some anatomical abnormalities can be observed on conventional MRI in cerebral malaria, they lack pathological specificity and are not easily quantifiable. To further characterize a murine model of cerebral malaria we acquired quantitative T1 and T2 maps at 11.75T. The maps display significant increase in T2 and T2* in white matter tracts, notably in the olfactory limb of the anterior commissure preceding the occurrence of more caudal lesions. Although challenging at high magnetic field, quantitative mapping of relaxation parameters may provide sensitive markers of disease progression and help elucidate the underlying pathophysiological mechanism.

Sung Soo Ahn¹, Se Hoon Kim², Jong Eun Lee³, Kook Jin Ahn⁴, Dong Joon Kim¹, Hyun Seok Choi⁴, Seung-Koo Lee¹, and Yoon Seong Choi^1
1Radiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, ²Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, ³Anatomy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, ⁴Radiology, The Catholic University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

This study is about quantitative evaluation of blood-brain barrier stabilization effect of agmatine in rat models of transient cerebral ischemia using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI at early stages to reduce the complications associated with thrombolytic therapy in ischemic stroke, and demonstrated the feasibility of DCE-MRI for the investigation of new therapies.

Su Xu^1,2, Jaylyn Waddell³, Da Shi^1,2, Wenjun Zhu^1,2, Andrew Marshall^1,2, Rao Gullapalli^1,2, and Mary C McKenna^3
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Core for Translational Research in Imaging @ Maryland, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Pediatrics and Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

A key requirement for developing efficient therapies to treat the perinatal hypoxic ischemia (HI) is to identify alterations that occur following a brain insult at early stages of brain development. The present study evaluated the regional brain metabolic alterations from moderate neonatal HI rats that were followed up to 28 days after initial injury using in vivo high resolution ¹H MRS. Severe oxidative, osmotic stress, impaired oxidative phosphorylation, and consequent reliance on anaerobic glycolysis were found in the ipsilateral hippocampus. The results indicate that the developing hippocampus is sensitive to HI which may have a profound impact on neurodevelopment.

Wataru Sako¹, An Vo¹, Aziz M Uluğ¹, and David Eidelberg^1
1Center for Neurosciences, Feinstein Institute For Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, United States

Normal motor-related pattern (NMRP) was originally identified in H215O PET study by multivariate analysis based on principal component analysis, and found to be more strongly expressed in patients with DYT1 dystonia than normal controls. Studying a group of subjects with both fMRI and PET, we derived NMRP from each imaging modality. We then applied the pattern in a group of sporadic dystonia patients. We found that sporadic dystonia patients did not have elevated NMRP expression, hence the increase previously seen in DYT1 dystonia patients may have genetic causes.

Paolo F. Felisaz^1,2, Sheronda Statum^2,3, Jiang Du², Eric Y. Chang^2,3, Justin M. Brown⁴, Sameer B. Shah⁵, Christine B. Chung^2,3, Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi², and Graeme M. Bydder^2
1Department of Radiology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ²Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States,³Department of Radiology, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States, ⁴Department of Surgery, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States, ⁵Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States

The objective of this study was to use short and ultrashort TE pulse sequences to demonstrate and distinguish between the collagenous components of peripheral nerve (external epineurium, internal epineurium and perineurium) at 3T and 11.7T. These tissues are not usually demonstrable with standard pulse sequences. Conventional spin echo, 2D and 3D UTE, and UTE-IR sequences were used. Magic angle effects and susceptibility effects were observed. We were able to specifically identify the epineurium and the perineurium within peripheral nerve. Assessing the integrity of these structures is critical for grading peripheral nerve injuries and determining the need for neurosurgical repair.

Jinhee Jang¹, Bum-soo Kim¹, Bom-yi Kim¹, Hyun Seok Choi¹, So-Lyung Jung¹, and Kook-Jin Ahn^1
1Radiology, Seoul St. Mary Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Subtraction venography (SubMRV) was obtained from two volume data of time-resolved MR angiography (TRMRA): subtraction of arterial phase data from venous phase data. Image quality of subMRV was acceptable and comparable with clinically used other MRV. SubMRV removed arterial contamination successfully. Visualization of dural sinuses on subMRV were superior than PCMRV.

Zhiyue J. Wang^1,2 and Jonathan M. Chia^3
1University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States, ²Children's Medical Center Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, ³Philips Healthcare, Ohio, United States

In SNR assessment of phantom MR images, the noise level cannot be obtained from the background areas reliably when a parallel imaging technique is used. The current gold standard is to use a difference image for noise assessment on the object. In practice the difference image methods are prone to artifacts from position drifts and solution flow. We present a method for SNR measurement from one image only, based on the wavelet transform. The new method is validated using the difference image method.

Ileana Hancu¹, Seung-Kyun Lee¹, Selaka Bulumulla¹, Laura Sacolick², Wei Sun³, and Florian Wiesinger^4
1GE Global Research Center, Niskayuna, NY, United States, ²GE Healthcare, Munich, Germany, ³GE Healthcare, Wisconsin, United States, ⁴GE Global Research Center, Munich, Germany

An efficient method to generate 3-dimensional maps of tissue electrical properties (TEP's) is demonstrated. It relies on two fundamental tenets: a recent reformulation of the Helmholtz equations (requiring only the complex value of the transceive field for TEP computation), and ZTE imaging (providing a legitimate estimate of the complex transceive field in a SNR efficient manner). Phantom and in vivo results obtained from the brain of a normal volunteer are presented.

Zach Eaton-Rosen¹, Andrew Melbourne¹, Alan Bainbridge², Giles S. Kendall³, Nicola J. Robertson³, Neil Marlow³, and Sebastien Ourselin^1
1CMIC, UCL, London, United Kingdom, ²Medical Physics, UCH, London, United Kingdom, ³Academic Neonatology, EGA UCL Institute for Women's Health, London, United Kingdom

Very preterm infants are more likely to suffer from neurodevelopmental disabilities, associated with white matter damage. Diffusion tensor parameters can infer damage but with limited specificity to the microstructure. We used multi-shell diffusion MR on a longitudinal preterm neonatal cohort to fit the NODDI model and separated diffusion parameters into contributions from orientation dispersion (OD) and from the intra-cellular volume fraction (v_ic). We found that the increasing FA in white matter regions is attributable to an increasing v_ic while OD remains constant. This work will help to establish parameterized growth rates in key white matter regions in the preterm brain.

Jie Huang¹ and David C. Zhu^1,2
1Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States, ²Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

Brain activity-associated neuronal currents produce weak transient magnetic fields that would affect both magnitude and phase of the local MR signal. Recent studies show that the neuronal current-induced MR signal attenuation is too weak to be reliably detected with present magnitude MRI techniques. This study demonstrates that the visual stimulus-evoked neuronal currents in the visual cortex do not induce detectable phase signal changes either. The reduction of temporal phase noise level will be needed to achieve such detection.

Maged Goubran¹, Robert R. Hammond², Sandrine de Ribaupierre³, Terry M. Peters¹, and Ali R. Khan^1
1Imaging Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada, ²Department of Pathology, Western university, London, Ontario, Canada,³Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Western university, London, Ontario, Canada

The pathological basis of abnormal MRI signals is poorly understood in focal epilepsy and correlation between histology and pre-operative MRI is needed. Our objective is to correlate quantitative in-vivo MR sequences and histology of surgical specimens from drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy patients. This study is the first to assess the relation between MRI and histology using correspondences based on image registration. By means of quantitative MRI metrics and histological features we demonstrated a significant correlation between T1 values and neuronal density in the grey matter. This correlation could subsequently allow prediction of pathology from in-vivo imaging.

Shintaro Ichikawa¹, Utaroh Motosugi¹, Tatsuya Shimizu¹, Hiroyuki Morisaka¹, Katsuhiro Sano¹, Takashi Kakegawa¹, Satoshi Ikenaga¹, Hiroshi Kumagai¹, and Tomoaki Ichikawa^1
1Department of Radiology, University of Yamanashi, Chuo-shi, Yamanashi, Japan

This presentation is targeted at those interested in phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow dynamics. Queckenstedt�fs testis a clinical procedure used to diagnose spinal stenosis. If stenosis is present in the spine, there will be a damped, delayed response in the lumbar puncture indicating a positive Queckenstedt�fs test. An increase in the CSF pressure indicates a change in the CSF flow dynamics. The purpose of this study is to measure the change in the CSF flow dynamics using PC-MRI when both jugular veins are compressed.

Eung Yeop Kim¹ and Jun-Young Chung^2,3
1Radiology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, ., Korea, ²Biomedical Engineering, College of Health Sciences, Gachon University, Seongnam, ., Korea, ³Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, ., Korea

The cerebral venous sinuses may normally show hyperintensity on cerebral TOF MRA, which oftentimes mimics pathologic conditions such as arteriovenous fistula. Using the source images of dynamic head and neck MRA, we demonstrated that the relative size of the inferior petrosal sinus to the ipsilateral anterior/lateral condylar veins is the only factor for visualization of hyperintensity in the inferior petrosal sinus on both sides on cerebral TOF MRA. Extrinsic compression of left internal jugular vein may be attributable to the presence of hyperintensity in the left sigmoid sinus on cerebral TOF MRA.

Wang Zhan¹, Hong Gu², and Yihong Yang^2
1University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States, ²National Institute on Drug Abuse, MD, United States

Neuronal dysfunctions associated with cocaine additions have been wildly reported inside and outside the dopaminergic reward system, yet the structural basis for the abnormal circuitry responses is still unclear. A diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study was performed using relatively larger group size and more comprehensive subject characterizations to investigate the white matter (WM) alteration patterns in chronic cocaine users. Our data show a complex DTI alteration pattern across multiple regions inside and outside the dopaminergic system.

Geon-Ho Jahng¹, Seung Hwan Lee², Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Jun Seok Koh², Dal-Mo Yang¹, Kyung-Nam Ryu³, Dong-Wook Sung³, and Woo-Suk Choi^3
1Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea, ²Stroke and Neurological Disorders Center, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea, ³Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Seoul, Korea

The default mode network (DMN) region is compatible with task-induced deactivation regions in the study of functional imaging data. Only a few studies investigated alterations of the default mode network or deactivations in patients with intracranial lesions. To investigate the alterations of the motor deactivation regions in patients with intracranial lesions compared with the normal status of brain, motor-tasked fMRI data obtained from twenty-seven patients with intracranial lesions were analyzed. There were widespread deactivations in response to the right and left motor tasks. In addition, there were 10 patients who exhibited additive motor task-induced deactivated regions.

Linda Chaabane¹, Fabio Bignami², Chiara Giacomini², Eleonora Capitolo¹, Paolo Rama², Giulio Ferrari², and Giancarlo Comi^1
1INSPE, Div. Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy, ²Cornea and Ocular Surface Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy

This study was designed to put in evidence the inflammatory activity within a cranial nerve, the trigeminal ganglion, induced by a peripheral damage of the cornea. In vivo MRI in combination with uspio contrast allowed the evidence of uspio uptake in the trigeminal ganglion far away from the site of injury (cornea) which correlated to specific inflammatory cells positive to immuno-markers of M2 macrophages.

An Vo¹, Wataru Sako¹, David Eidelberg¹, and Aziz M Uluğ^1
1Center for Neurosciences, Feinstein Institute For Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, United States

The purpose of this study is using rsfMRI to determine affected brain networks in dystonia. rsfMRI were analyzed using spatial group independent component analysis. Four ICs representing independent contributions from cerebellar, thalamic and premotor/prefrontal regions achieved maximum between-group separation. Dystonia pattern was obtained by a linear combination of these four components using estimated parameters of nominal logistic model. Subject scores representing the mean expression of the dystonia-related pattern were abnormally elevated in the DYT1 and DYT6 patients and the sporadic patients as well. The topography of the rsfMRI-based network closely resembled that previously described in the resting state with FDG PET.

Joana Ramalho¹, Timothy Gershon², Robert Greenwood², Mauricio Castillo¹, and Yueh Z Lee^1
1Radiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, ²Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

The purpose of our presentation is to describe the image quality, practical limitations and artifacts, based on our early clinical experience with PET-MRI in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1, who underwent whole body evaluation for staging the disease. Our preliminary study points to two of the great potential applications of PET-MRI – whole body imaging at a lower dose than PET/CT and applications in pediatric oncology.

Camilla Rossi Espagnet¹, Lev Bangiyev¹, Kai Tobias Block², Robert Grimm³, Li Feng², Vito Ruggiero², James Babb², Adam Davis¹, Daniel K. Sodickson², and Girish Fatterpekar^1
1Neuroradiology, NYULMC, New York, NY, United States, ²Radiology, NYULMC, New York, NY, United States, ³Pattern Recognition Lab, FAU, Erlangen, Nuremberg, Germany

Dynamic T1W contrast-enhanced sequence is considered to be the gold standard to evaluate the pituitary gland. However, it does not allow assessment of perfusion characteristics of the pituitary gland. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the utility of recently developed Radial-VIBE with GRASP to evaluate perfusion characteristics of individual component of pituitary gland. Signal-time curves generated from 79 patients demonstrated significant differences in the enhancement pattern and perfusion metrics between anterior, posterior pituitary gland and median eminence. This validation study confirms the ability of GRASP technique to evaluate the hitherto unexplored perfusion characteristics of the pituitary gland.

Xiao Wang¹, Afshin A Divani², Yi Zhang¹, Wei Chen¹, and Xiao-Hong Zhu^1
1Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States,²Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, United States

The SR-T1 method of imaging CBF change has previously validated with the Laser Doppler flowmetry measurement, the continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) technique and at different field strength in either normal or global four-vessel occlusion rat model. In the present study, the SR-T1 method is further verified with the CASL technique in the preclinical unilateral MCAO rat brain. The results reveal that both the SR-T1 method and the CASL technique are sensitive to the impaired vascular response subsequent to the ischemic attack induced by MCA occlusion. There is an excellent agreement of the CBF change values in different ROIs and spatial pattern in the delta CBF images measured with the SR-T1 method and the CASL technique. Therefore, the SR-T1 method provides a robust, noninvasive and reliable tool to image CBF change in an absolute scale induced by physiological and pathological conditions associated with cerebrovascular diseases.

Kambiz Nael¹, Bijan Mossadeghi¹, Rihan Khan¹, Arash Meshksar¹, Wayne Kubal¹, Benjamin Ellingson², and Pablo J Villablanca^2
1Medical Imaging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, ²Radiological Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States

A reduced contrast-dose brain DSC perfusion can be useful for implementation in combined multi injection protocols, where the contrast dose is a limiting factor. Deconvolution, routinely used for DSC analysis, is an ill-posed problem where small changes in the data (the concentration time curve) may dramatically influence the response (residue function). Reducing the contrast dose and resultant higher noise (low SNR) can further accentuate this limitation. Bayesian probabilistic method, whichis less sensitive to low SNR and is now commercially available, is promising for estimation of cerebral perfusion in reduced contrast-dose protocol with comparable quantitative results to full-dose protocol.

Samantha J Holdsworth¹, Stefan Skare², Kristen Yeom³, and Michael E Moseley^1
1Lucas Center for Imaging, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States, ²Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinksa Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, ³Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States

With the goal of shortening the overall scan time in pediatric MRI, here we present preliminary data acquired the use of four MR methods that have been built in-house: a T1-weighted 3D Short-Axis Propeller Echo Planar Imaging (SAP-EPI) sequence; a T2-weighted 3D SAP-EPI sequence, a novel Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) Readout-Segmented (RS)-EPI sequence; and a dual-echo Diffusion-Weighted-Imaging (DWI) sequence. The first three of these methods are faster than their conventional counterparts; and the latter can also deliver R2 maps.

Camilla Rossi Espagnet¹, Lev Bangiyev¹, Kai Tobias Block², Robert Grimm³, Daniel K. Sodickson², Benjamin Cohen¹, Thomas Mulholland², Ajax George¹, James Babb², and Girish Fatterpekar^1
1Neuroradiology, NYULMC, New York, NY, United States, ²Radiology, NYULMC, New York, NY, United States, ³Pattern Recognition Lab, FAU, Erlangen, Nuremberg, Germany

Evaluating functional-perfusion information from the pituitary gland when no structural abnormality is present in patients with central endocrinologic symptoms has not been explored. The purpose of our study was therefore to evaluate perfusion parameters using radial VIBE with GRASP in patients with “central” endocrine disturbances. A retrospective study was performed in 43 patients (Controls: n = 33, and Patients: n = 10). Evaluation of signal-time curves from anterior and posterior pituitary gland demonstrated significantly lower perfusion parameters in the patient population. This pilot study suggests that perfusion parameters are abnormal in patients with endocrinologic disturbances despite a normal appearing gland.

Olivier Balédent¹, Catherine Gondry², Cyrille Capel¹, Valériane Michel¹, and Roger Bouzerar^1
1Image processing, University hospital, Amiens, France, ²Radiology, University hospital, Amiens, France

Arterial Spin labeling is a useful tool to measure local microcirculation hemodynamics. Our goal is to evaluate the influence of head posture and PC-MRI arterial inflow on ASL CBF measurements. Cine-PC and Pulsed-continuous ASL sequences were performed in 20 pediatric subjects. Total arterial inflow (Qa), mean CBF at midbrain level, cerebral volume index (CVI), CBFv=CBFxCVI and head inclination were calculated. CBFv was correlated to intracranial arterial inflow Qa. CBFv and Qa were correlated to the subject's age. CBFv/Qa was negatively correlated to the head inclination. Knowledge of global arterial inflow could improve the accuracy of ASL data.

Laura Ludovica Gramegna¹, David Neil Manners¹, Claudia Testa¹, Claudio Bianchini¹, Ilaria Naldi², Lorenzo Ferri², Francesca Bisulli^2,3, Paolo Tinuper^2,3, Raffaele Lodi¹, and Caterina Tonon^1
1Functional MR Unit, Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DiBiNeM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, ²Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DiBiNeM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, ³IRCCS Institute of Neurological Science of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) includes paroxysmal episodes appearing almost exclusively during sleep. The pathophysiology of NFLE is not yet fully understood and distinguishing NFLE seizures from paroxysmal non-epileptic sleep disorders is difficult. We used VBM and TBSS to evaluate brain tissue density and white matter microstructure in 20 NFLE patients. Compared to healthy controls NFLE patients showed widespread white matter microstructural alterations. Right frontal-orbital gray matter density was reduced in more severely affected patients. Our findings may help to better understand the pathophysiology of NFLE and to differentiate NFLE from other non-epileptic motor phenomena arising from sleep.