Toward an In Vivo Neuroimaging Template of Human Brainstem Nuclei of the Ascending Arousal, Autonomic, and Motor Systems
Name
brain.2015.0347.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
812.96 KB
Format
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Bianciardi, Marta
Toschi, Nicola
Edlow, Brian L.
Eichner, Cornelius
Setsompop, Kawin
Polimeni, Jonathan R.
Brown, Emery Neal
Kinney, Hannah C.
Rosen, Bruce R.
Wald, Lawrence
Date Issued
December 2015
Journal
Brain Connectivity
Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert Inc
Citation
Bianciardi, Marta, Nicola Toschi, Brian L. Edlow et al. "Toward an In Vivo Neuroimaging Template of Human Brainstem Nuclei of the Ascending Arousal, Autonomic, and Motor Systems." Brain Connectivity 5,10 (December 2015): p.597-607. ©2015 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Brainstem nuclei (Bn) in humans play a crucial role in vital functions, such as arousal, autonomic homeostasis, sensory and motor relay, nociception, sleep, and cranial nerve function, and they have been implicated in a vast array of brain pathologies. However, an in vivo delineation of most human Bn has been elusive because of limited sensitivity and contrast for detecting these small regions using standard neuroimaging methods. To precisely identify several human Bn in vivo, we employed a 7 Tesla scanner equipped with multi-channel receive-coil array, which provided high magnetic resonance imaging sensitivity, and a multi-contrast (diffusion fractional anisotropy and T2-weighted) echo-planar-imaging approach, which provided complementary contrasts for Bn anatomy with matched geometric distortions and resolution. Through a combined examination of 1.3 mm3 multi-contrast anatomical images acquired in healthy human adults, we semi-automatically generated in vivo probabilistic Bn labels of the ascending arousal (median and dorsal raphe), autonomic (raphe magnus, periaqueductal gray), and motor (inferior olivary nuclei, two subregions of the substantia nigra compatible with pars compacta and pars reticulata, two subregions of the red nucleus, and, in the diencephalon, two subregions of the subthalamic nucleus) systems. These labels constitute a first step toward the development of an in vivo neuroimaging template of Bn in standard space to facilitate future clinical and research investigations of human brainstem function and pathology. Proof-of-concept clinical use of this template is demonstrated in a minimally conscious patient with traumatic brainstem hemorrhages precisely localized to the raphe Bn involved in arousal.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Medical Engineering & Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1089/BRAIN.2015.0347
