Jeremy J. Flint1,2, Brian Hansen3, Michael Fey4, Daniel Schmidig4, Michael A. King5, Peter Vestergaard-Poulsen3, Stephen J. Blackband1,6
1Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 2McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 3Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark; 4Bruker Biospin AG, Switzerland; 5Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 6National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, FL, USA
Diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) uses data gleaned from DTI experiments to elucidate the path taken by white matter tracts through multiple image voxels. Although numerous methodologies have been employed to perform this function, no method has been proposed as a means of unambiguously verifying the accuracy of DTT data. We propose a method of validating DTT data by comparing tractography maps generated using magnetic resonance microscopy to correlative histology of the same tissue. By these methods, the orientations of white-matter tracts are clearly represented in the histological images which can be used as a template for verification of DTT-generated tracts.
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