How do current diffusion-based MR methods reflect hypomyelination – comparison of diffusion tensor, neurite orientation dispersion and density, and diffusion kurtosis imaging

Diffusion-based MRI comprises an exciting toolset to analyze tissue microstructures under normal and pathological conditions. Among numerous diffusion-based methods compared, all reflected the differences in myelination in a mouse model expressing only reduced levels of the myelin basic protein. However, diffusion tensor was more robust than diffusion kurtosis imaging. Intra-neurite volumes, as revealed by neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging or by the spherical mean technique, were not specific for the numbers of axons but were also affected by difference in myelination.