Abstract #2513

Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Intact & Injured Rat HippocampusHistopathological Correlates for Alterations Caused by Status Epilepticus & Traumatic Brain Injury

Alejandra Sierra¹, Teemu Laitinen¹, Asla Pitknen^1,2, Olli Grhn¹

¹Department of Neurobiology, A.I. Virtanen for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; ²Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

The aim of this study was to use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate cellular and tissue level features influence anisotropic diffusion of water in sub-regions of rat hippocampus. High resolution color-coded FA maps can detect tissue structure in hippocampus and etiology specific alterations after injury caused by status epilepticus (SE) or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our data indicate that diffusion anisotropy is influenced not only by major myelinated fiber bundles but also by other structures, e.g. neurons, in the hippocampus. These results shed light to cellular and tissue level alterations underlying diffusion anisotropy changes outside major white matter tracts and set the scene for even more wide use of DTI as a biomedical research tool and in diagnostics.