1Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, 2Department of Neurobiology, A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
We investigate changes in the
temporal diffusion spectrum sampled using oscillating gradient spin-echo (OGSE)
acquisitions at increasing gradient frequencies in the epileptogenic rat brain. PGSE and
OGSE data at discrete oscillation frequencies were acquired from
pilocarpine-treated and control rat brains (n=5 each) with a spectral
resolution of 60 Hz (f = 60 Hz, 120 Hz,
180 Hz). Our findings reveal significant changes in the frequency-dependent
modulation of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in specific areas of the pilocarpine
brain, which were found to correspond to region-specific gliosis and neuronal loss respectively. Using comparison with histological findings, our results show unique sensitivity of OGSE diffusion MRI to probe specific cellular-level alterations in the
epileptogenic brain.
