Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging
The human brain anatomy is characterized by dramatic structural changes during fetal development. It is extraordinarily complex and yet its origin is a simple tubular structure. Revealing detailed anatomy at different stages of brain development not only aids in understanding this highly ordered pro...
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| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2010-01-01
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| Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2010.21 |
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| author | Hao Huang |
| author_facet | Hao Huang |
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| description | The human brain anatomy is characterized by dramatic structural changes during fetal development. It is extraordinarily complex and yet its origin is a simple tubular structure. Revealing detailed anatomy at different stages of brain development not only aids in understanding this highly ordered process, but also provides clues to detect abnormalities caused by genetic or environmental factors. However, anatomical studies of human brain development during the fetal period are surprisingly scarce and histology-based atlases have become available only recently. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures water diffusion to delineate the underlying neural structures. The high contrasts derived from DTI can be used to establish the brain atlas. With DTI tractography, coherent neural structures, such as white matter tracts, can be three-dimensionally reconstructed. The primary eigenvector of the diffusion tensor can be further explored to characterize microstructures in the cerebral wall of the developmental brains. In this mini-review, the application of DTI in order to reveal the structures of developmental fetal brains has been reviewed in the above-mentioned aspects. The fetal brain DTI provides a unique insight for delineating the neural structures in both macroscopic and microscopic levels. The resultant DTI database will provide structural guidance for the developmental study of human fetal brains in basic neuroscience, and reference standards for diagnostic radiology of premature newborns. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-279505ea65784bdea79097d207b29b2a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1537-744X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2010-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Scientific World Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-279505ea65784bdea79097d207b29b2a2025-08-20T02:04:20ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2010-01-011013514410.1100/tsw.2010.21Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor ImagingHao Huang0Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USAThe human brain anatomy is characterized by dramatic structural changes during fetal development. It is extraordinarily complex and yet its origin is a simple tubular structure. Revealing detailed anatomy at different stages of brain development not only aids in understanding this highly ordered process, but also provides clues to detect abnormalities caused by genetic or environmental factors. However, anatomical studies of human brain development during the fetal period are surprisingly scarce and histology-based atlases have become available only recently. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures water diffusion to delineate the underlying neural structures. The high contrasts derived from DTI can be used to establish the brain atlas. With DTI tractography, coherent neural structures, such as white matter tracts, can be three-dimensionally reconstructed. The primary eigenvector of the diffusion tensor can be further explored to characterize microstructures in the cerebral wall of the developmental brains. In this mini-review, the application of DTI in order to reveal the structures of developmental fetal brains has been reviewed in the above-mentioned aspects. The fetal brain DTI provides a unique insight for delineating the neural structures in both macroscopic and microscopic levels. The resultant DTI database will provide structural guidance for the developmental study of human fetal brains in basic neuroscience, and reference standards for diagnostic radiology of premature newborns.http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2010.21 |
| spellingShingle | Hao Huang Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging The Scientific World Journal |
| title | Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging |
| title_full | Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging |
| title_fullStr | Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging |
| title_short | Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging |
| title_sort | delineating neural structures of developmental human brains with diffusion tensor imaging |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2010.21 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT haohuang delineatingneuralstructuresofdevelopmentalhumanbrainswithdiffusiontensorimaging |