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Abstract #4033

An analytical model of restricted diffusion in dendritic spines.

Kadir Şimşek1,2, Maëliss Jallais1, Julien Valette3, and Marco Palombo1
1CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 2School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 3Molecular Imaging Research Center (MIRCen), Paris, France

Synopsis

Keywords: Diffusion Modeling, Diffusion Modeling

Motivation: Recent studies show that diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) and spectroscopy (dMRS) measurements of water and brain metabolites are sensitive to spine density. However, these studies relied on simulations, and an analytical biophysical model for dMRI/dMRS signals from spiny dendrites is still lacking.

Goal(s): To present a first step toward developing such a model.

Approach: We provide the analytical solution for the signal in the short gradient pulse (SGP) approximation, validation with Monte-Carlo simulations, and investigation of wide pulses impact.

Results: In typical preclinical settings, sensitivity to spine density, but not morphology, is present and measurable with ultra-strong gradients.

Impact: We developed a biophysical model for characterizing diffusion MR signal from spiny dendrites, providing a foundation for designing dMRI/dMRS methods to non-invasively quantify changes in spine density and morphology, hallmarks of neuroplasticity, and several neurodegenerative diseases, and neurological disorders.

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Keywords