Abstract
This work demonstrates technical approaches to high-quality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of small structures of the mouse brain in vivo. It turns out that excellent soft-tissue contrast requires the reduction of partial volume effects by using 3D MRI at high (isotropic) resolution with linear voxel dimensions of about 100-150 μm. The long T2* relaxation times at relatively low magnetic fields (2.35 T) offer the benefit of a small receiver bandwidth (increased signal-to-noise) at a moderate echo time which together with the small voxel size avoids visual susceptibility artifacts. For measuring times of 1-1.5 h both * relaxation times at relatively low magnetic fields (2.35 T) offer the benefit of a small receiver bandwidth (increased signal-to-noise) at a moderate echo time which together with the small voxel size avoids visual susceptibility artifacts. For measuring times of 1-1.5 h both T1-weighted (FLASH) and T2-weighted (Fast Spin-Echo) 3D MRI acquisitions exhibit detailed anatomical insights in accordance with histological sections from a mouse brain atlas. Preliminary applications address the identification of neuroanatomical variations in different mouse strains and the use of Mn2+ as a T1 contrast agent for neuroaxonal tracing of fiber tracts within the mouse visual pathway.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 203-209 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroscience Methods |
Volume | 120 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 30 2002 |
Keywords
- Contrast
- MR microscopy
- MRI
- Manganese
- Mouse brain
- Mouse strain
- Neuroaxonal tracing
- Phenotyping
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience