Insights into brain microstructure from in vivo DW-MRS

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Biophysics
• Cellular Biology

Background:

• Cellular microstructures change in developmental and pathological processes.
• Diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DW-MRI) probes microstructure via non-specific water signals.
• Diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (DW-MRS) quantifies metabolite diffusion for specific tissue characterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review state-of-the-art methods for robust acquisition, quantification, and analysis of DW-MRS data.
• To discuss the relevance of DW-MRS for elucidating in vivo brain microstructure.
• To highlight DW-MRS's potential for cell-specific information in health and disease.

Main Methods:

• Survey of advanced techniques for DW-MRS data acquisition.
• Review of robust quantification and analysis strategies for DW-MRS.
• Integration of metabolite diffusion data with computational and geometrical modeling.

Main Results:

• DW-MRS provides cell and compartment-specific information due to metabolite localization.
• Metabolite diffusion properties can inform model selection in DW-MRI.
• Accurate DW-MRS data combined with modeling yields unique intracellular structural information.

Conclusions:

• DW-MRS offers unparalleled cell-specific insights into brain microstructure.
• This technique has significant potential for in vivo research and clinical applications in neurology.
• DW-MRS can advance our understanding of brain structure in health and disease.