Abstract #2940

in vivo Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Neonatal Rat Brain Development

Markus Breu¹,², Dominik Maria Reisinger¹,², Dan Wu³, Yajing Zhang³, Ali Fatemi¹,², Jiangyang Zhang⁴

¹Hugo W. Moser Research Institute, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

To investigate the relationships between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based markers and micro-structural changes in the developing brain, in vivo high resolution DTI was used to characterize neonatal rat brain development from postnatal day 2 (P2) to P10. The DTI contrasts allowed delineation and tracking of major structures in the neonatal rat brain. The results showed modest increases in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and small increases in fractional anisotropy (FA) in major white matter structures at P2-P10. During the same period, rapid decline in FA and complex changes in ADC were found in the neonatal cortex.