Evaluation of Field Map and Nonlinear Registration Methods for Correction of Susceptibility Artifacts in Diffusion MRI

Correction of echo planar imaging (EPI)-induced distortions (called “unwarping”) improves anatomical fidelity for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional imaging investigations. Commonly used unwarping methods require the acquisition of supplementary images during the scanning session. Alternatively, distortions can be corrected by nonlinear registration to a non-EPI acquired structural image. In this study, we compared reliability using two methods of unwarping: (1) nonlinear registration to a structural image using symmetric normalization (SyN) implemented in Advanced Normalization Tools (ANTs); and (2) unwarping using an acquired field map. We performed this comparison in two different test-retest data sets acquired at differing sites (N = 39 and N = 32). In both data sets, nonlinear registration provided higher test-retest reliability of the output fractional anisotropy (FA) maps than field map-based unwarping, even when accounting for the effect of interpolation on the smoothness of the images. In general, field map-based unwarping was preferable if and only if the field maps were acquired optimally.

Normal cerebral, renal and abdominal regional oxygen saturations using near-infrared spectroscopy in preterm infants

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to characterize baseline regional oxygen saturations (rSO(2)) in stable preterm infants during the first weeks of life.

STUDY DESIGN

Cerebral, renal and abdominal rSO(2) were continuously monitored from the time of birth to 21 days in twelve preterm infants of 29-34 weeks gestation. Regional saturations were evaluated for trends over time, variability and differences between gestational ages (GAs) and reported pediatric values.

RESULT

Both cerebral (66-83%) and renal (64-87%) rSO(2) baselines were within the range of reported neonatal values but consistently decreased over the first weeks of life (P<0.01). The baseline abdominal rSO(2) was 32-66% and increased with GA (P=0.05). The rSO(2) variability was lowest for cerebral measurements and highest at the abdomen. Abdominal rSO(2) variability decreased over time (P≤0.05).

CONCLUSION

Daily baseline rSO(2) in preterm infants changes over the first weeks of life, especially at the abdomen. Evolution in baseline rSO2 over time may indicate regional developmental maturation of physiological oxygen balance.

Using high-resolution MR imaging at 7T to evaluate the anatomy of the midbrain dopaminergic system

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Dysfunction of DA neurotransmission from the SN and VTA has been implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases, including Parkinson disease and schizophrenia. Unfortunately, these midbrain DA structures are difficult to define on clinical MR imaging. To more precisely evaluate the anatomic architecture of the DA midbrain, we scanned healthy participants with a 7T MR imaging system. Here we contrast the performance of high-resolution T2- and T2*-weighted GRASE and FFE MR imaging scans at 7T.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ten healthy participants were scanned by using GRASE and FFE sequences. CNRs were calculated among the SN, VTA, and RN, and their volumes were estimated by using a segmentation algorithm.

RESULTS

Both GRASE and FFE scans revealed visible contrast between midbrain DA regions. The GRASE scan showed higher CNRs compared with the FFE scan. The T2* contrast of the FFE scan further delineated substructures and microvasculature within the midbrain SN and RN. Segmentation and volume estimation of the midbrain SN, RN, and VTA showed individual differences in the size and volume of these structures across participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Both GRASE and FFE provide sufficient CNR to evaluate the anatomy of the midbrain DA system. The FFE in particular reveals vascular details and substructure information within the midbrain regions that could be useful for examining structural changes in midbrain pathologies.

Magnetic resonance imaging of radiation dose distributions using a polymer-gel dosimeter

A new formulation of a tissue-equivalent polymer-gel dosimeter for the measurement of three-dimensional dose distributions of ionizing radiation has been developed. It is composed of aqueous gelatin infused with acrylamide and N, N'-methylene-bisacrylamide monomers, and made hypoxic by nitrogen saturation. Irradiation of the gel, referred to as BANG, causes localized polymerization of the monomers, which, in turn, reduces the transverse NMR relaxation times of water protons. The dose dependence of the NMR transverse relaxation rate, R2, is reproducible (less than 2% variation) and is linear up to about 8 Gy, with a slope of 0.25 s(-1)Gy(-1) at 1.5 T. Magnetic resonance imaging may be used to obtain accurate three-dimensional dose distributions with high spatial resolution. Since the radiation-induced polymers do not diffuse through the gelatin matrix, the dose distributions recorded by BANG gels are stable for long periods of time, and may be used to measure low-activity radioactive sources. Since the light-scattering properties of the polymerized regions are different from those of the clear, non-irradiated regions, the dose distributions are visible, and their optical densities are dependent on dose.

Hemispheric dominance of cortical activity evoked by focal electrogustatory stimuli

Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to observe cortical hemodynamic responses to electric taste stimuli applied separately to the right and left sides of the tongue tip. In 11 right-handed normal adults activation occurred primarily in the insular cortex, superior temporal lobe, inferior frontal lobe, including premotor regions, and in inferior parts of the postcentral gyrus. Unexpectedly, the location and laterality of activation were largely identical regardless of the side of the tongue stimulated. Activation in the superior insula, the presumed location of primary gustatory cortex, was predominantly, but not exclusively, in the right hemisphere, whereas central (more inferior) insular activations were more evenly bilateral. Right hemispheric dominance of activation also occurred in premotor regions (Brodmann areas 6 and 44), whereas left hemispheric dominance occurred only in the superior temporal cortex (Brodmann areas 22/42). The electric taste-evoked hemodynamic response pattern was more consistent with activation of the gustatory system than activation of somatosensory systems. The results suggest that the sites for cortical processing of electric taste information are dependent on hemispheric specialization.

Activation of the left amygdala to a cognitive representation of fear

We examined the neural substrates involved when subjects encountered an event linked verbally, but not experientially, to an aversive outcome. This instructed fear task models a primary way humans learn about the emotional nature of events. Subjects were told that one stimulus (threat) represents an aversive event (a shock may be given), whereas another (safe) represents safety (no shock will be given). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), activation of the left amygdala was observed in response to threat versus safe conditions, which correlated with the expression of the fear response as measured by skin conductance. Additional activation observed in the insular cortex is proposed to be involved in conveying a cortical representation of fear to the amygdala. These results suggest that the neural substrates that support conditioned fear across species have a similar but somewhat different role in more abstract representations of fear in humans.

Performance on indirect measures of race evaluation predicts amygdala activation

We used fMRI to explore the neural substrates involved in the unconscious evaluation of Black and White social groups. Specifically, we focused on the amygdala, a subcortical structure known to play a role in emotional learning and evaluation. In Experiment 1, White American subjects observed faces of unfamiliar Black and White males. The strength of amygdala activation to Black-versus-White faces was correlated with two indirect (unconscious) measures of race evaluation (Implicit Association Test [IAT] and potentiated startle), but not with the direct (conscious) expression of race attitudes. In Experiment 2, these patterns were not obtained when the stimulus faces belonged to familiar and positively regarded Black and White individuals. Together, these results suggest that amygdala and behavioral responses to Black-versus-White faces in White subjects reflect cultural evaluations of social groups modified by individual experience.

Event-related fMRI of auditory and visual oddball tasks

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the spatial distribution of cortical activation in frontal and parietal lobes during auditory and visual oddball tasks in 10 healthy subjects. The purpose of the study was to compare activation within auditory and visual modalities and identify common patterns of activation across these modalities. Each subject was scanned eight times, four times each for the auditory and visual conditions. The tasks consisted of a series of trials presented every 1500 ms of which 4-6% were target trials. Subjects kept a silent count of the number of targets detected during each scan. The data were analyzed by correlating the fMRI signal response of each pixel to a reference hemodynamic response function that modeled expected responses to each target stimulus. The auditory and visual targets produced target-related activation in frontal and parietal cortices with high spatial overlap particularly in the middle frontal gyrus and in the anterior cingulate. Similar convergence zones were detected in parietal cortex. Temporal differences were detected in the onset of the activation in frontal and parietal areas with an earlier onset in parietal areas than in the middle frontal areas. Based on consistent findings with previous event-related oddball tasks, the high degree of spatial overlap in frontal and parietal areas appears to be due to modality independent or amodal processes related to procedural aspects of the tasks that may involve memory updating and non-specific response organization.

An event-related functional MRI study of the stroop color word interference task

In this study we have attempted to define the neural circuits differentially activated by cognitive interference. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify areas of the brain that are activated by the Stroop word-color task in two experiments. In the first experiment, we used infrequent, incongruent colored word stimuli to elicit strong Stroop interference (the 'conventional Stroop' paradigm). In the second experiment, we used infrequent, congruent colored words (the 'inverse Stroop' paradigm) to confirm that the regions identified in the first experiment were in fact specifically related to the Stroop effect and not to nonspecific oddball effects associated with the use of infrequent stimuli. Performance of the conventional Stroop specifically activated the anterior cingulate, insula, premotor and inferior frontal regions. These activated regions in the current experiment are consistent with those activated in fMRI experiments that use a more traditional block design. Finally, analysis of the time course of fMRI signal changes demonstrated differential onset and offset of signal changes in these activated regions. The time course results suggest that the action of various brain areas can be temporally dissociated.

An fMRI study of Stroop word-color interference: evidence for cingulate subregions subserving multiple distributed attentional systems

BACKGROUND

The goal of this study was to model the functional connectivity of the neural systems that subserve attention and impulse control. Proper performance of the Stroop Word-Color Interference Task requires both attention and impulse control.

METHODS

Word-color interference was studied in 34 normal adult subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

Interregional correlation analyses suggested that the anterior cingulate is coupled functionally with multiple regions throughout the cerebrum. A factor analysis of the significant regional activations further emphasized this functional coupling. The cingulate or related mesial frontal cortices loaded on each of the seven factors identified in the factor analysis. Other regions that loaded significantly on these factors have been described previously as belonging to anatomically connected circuits believed to subserve sensory tuning, receptive language, vigilance, working memory, response selection, motor planning, and motor response functions. These seven factors appeared to be oriented topographically within the anterior cingulate, with sensory, working memory, and vigilance functions positioned more rostrally, and response selection, motor planning, and motor response positioned progressively more caudally.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support a parallel distributed processing model for word-color interference in which portions of the anterior cingulate cortex modify the strengths of multiple neural pathways used to read and name colors. Allocation of attentional resources is thought to modify pathway strengths by reducing cross-talk between information processing modules that subserve the competing demands of reading and color naming. The functional topography of these neural systems observed within the cingulate argues for the presence of multiple attentional subsystems, each contributing to improved task performance. The topography also suggests a role for the cingulate in coordinating and integrating the activity of these multiple attentional subsystems.

Human amygdala activation during conditioned fear acquisition and extinction: a mixed-trial fMRI study

Echoplanar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in normal human subjects to investigate the role of the amygdala in conditioned fear acquisition and extinction. A simple discrimination procedure was employed in which activation to a visual cue predicting shock (CS+) was compared with activation to another cue presented alone (CS-). CS+ and CS- trial types were intermixed in a pseudorandom order. Functional images were acquired with an asymmetric spin echo pulse sequence from three coronal slices centered on the amygdala. Activation of the amygdala/periamygdaloid cortex was observed during conditioned fear acquisition and extinction. The extent of activation during acquisition was significantly correlated with autonomic indices of conditioning in individual subjects. Consistent with a recent electrophysiological recording study in the rat (Quirk et al., 1997), the profile of the amygdala response was temporally graded, although this dynamic was only statistically reliable during extinction. These results provide further evidence for the conservation of amygdala function across species and implicate an amygdalar contribution to both acquisition and extinction processes during associative emotional learning tasks.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of tic suppression in Tourette syndrome

BACKGROUND

The inability to inhibit unwanted behaviors and impulses produces functional debility in a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders. A potentially important model of impulse control is volitional tic suppression in Tourette syndrome.

METHODS

Tic suppression was studied in 22 adult subjects with Tourette syndrome by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Images acquired during periods of voluntary tic suppression were compared with images acquired when subjects allowed the spontaneous expression of their tics. The magnitudes of signal change in the images were then correlated with measures of the severity of tic symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant changes in signal intensity were seen in the basal ganglia and thalamus and in anatomically connected cortical regions believed to subserve attention-demanding tasks. The magnitudes of regional signal change in the basal ganglia and thalamus correlated inversely with the severity of tic symptoms. These findings suggest that the pathogenesis of tics involves an impaired modulation of neuronal activity in subcortical neural circuits.

Mapping of turbulent intensity by magnetic resonance imaging

The signal produced by turbulent flow in NMR pulse sequences has been analyzed by considering the effects of variations in fluid velocity on the net signal phase variance. It is shown that in a bipolar field gradient, the signal is dependent on the gradient amplitude and the precise time dependence of the velocity fluctuations. This dependence is described using an autocorrelation function, whose characteristic width is the correlation time. When the correlation time is short, the signal from fluid elements decreases as though they are diffusing in a random walk, whereas when the time is long, the signal falls more rapidly with an increase in the duration of the gradient waveform. However, many situations fall into an intermediate regime. A general expression appropriate for all correlation times has been derived and used to characterize the turbulent flow distal to a stenosis in a tube. By use of multiple images of the spatial distribution of NMR signal obtained with differing readout gradients and analyzed by application of the general expression for signal loss, the spatial variations in the correlation time and turbulent intensity have been obtained. The measured variations correlate well with computer calculations obtained by numerical simulation of the flow. This method permits turbulent and complex flows to be characterized without disturbing the flow and may have general applications.

Mechanisms of signal loss in magnetic resonance imaging of stenoses

Some of the factors affecting the signal losses that occur in magnetic resonance images at a stenosis or other region of complex flow have been evaluated. The important determinants of dephasing within a volume element are the net gradient moments, which can be kept small even at long echo times. For compact gradient wave forms, the echo time by itself is unimportant and does not affect signal losses. Reducing the fraction of echo sampled is an alternate method to velocity compensation for reducing gradient moment dephasing that keeps higher moments small. The effects of reducing the fraction of echo sampled on the signal losses in flow distal to a stenosis have been measured experimentally. Another source of signal loss at a stenosis is the variation of the mean phase within a volume element that occurs for flow that varies from one phase encoded view to another. Changes in flow behavior between acquisitions lead to signal displacement in the image. These view to view changes have also been quantified.

Phasing out speckle

It is demonstrated that the instantaneous frequency of a backscattered echo sequence can be used to pinpoint the location of destructive interference effects. These interference artefacts, which are generally interpreted as speckle in the image, are generally removed by stochastic averaging or filtering methods applied to the acquired image. The method proposed here can detect such artefacts within individual A-lines, and thus differs from conventional techniques. Where speckle is recognised within each A-line, the artefact can be corrected on a local basis by the application of the frequency diversity technique. Because it relies only on A-line processing, the approach points the way towards a speckle reduction technique which can realistically be implemented on a real-time basis. In this paper, the principles of the technique are illustrated using a simple two-reflector model.