High-Field (9.4 T) MRI of Brain Dysmyelination by Quantitative Mapping of Magnetic Susceptibility

Chunlei Liu^1,2, Wei Li¹, G. Allan Johnson², Bing Wu¹

Myelin sheath wrapping around nerve axons is essential for proper functioning of the central nervous system. Abnormal myelination leads to a wide range of neurological diseases and developmental disorders. We demonstrated that loss of myelin in the shiverer mouse results in a dramatic reduction resulted in a near extinction of susceptibility contrast between gray and white matter. Our data provides new evidences indicating that myelin is the predominant source of susceptibility differences between deep gray and white matter observed in MRI. More importantly, our data suggest that quantitative magnetic susceptibility is a potential endogenous biomarker for myelination.