[The application and research progress of functional magnetic resonance imaging in glaucoma]

Recent advances on functional magnetic resonance technology have greatly broadened its application in many disciplines including ophthalmic research area. Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI), which combines the anatomical and functional features of the neural system, is a non-invasive,objective and orienting method. Among so many sub-methods, blood oxygenation level dependent MRI reflects the neural activities of visual cortex; diffusion tensor imaging traces nerve fibers; gadolinium enhanced MRI could access blood-ocular barrier function; manganese enhanced MRI reveals axoplasmic transport and retinotopic projection to sub-cortical nucleus; blood volume MRI could evaluate lamina-specific hemodynamics of ocular wall; while magnetic resonance spectroscopy investigates the molecular metabolism in nerve system. Glaucoma may damage the whole visual pathway, and fMRI would helps us estimate the in vivo fiber integrity and visual functional status quo in glaucoma patients. Here we first review the basic principles of several fMRI techniques and then discuss the applications in research related to glaucoma.