Greg D Parker1, Dafydd LLoyd2, and Derek K Jones1,3
1CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 2Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr, Swansea, United Kingdom, 3Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Tract-specific microstructural measurements are key
to many white matter
studies. Common tract-specific measurement strategies average measurements along tracts of interest, but are insensitive to
localised
changes. Alternatively, by searching radially
to a co-registered tract
skeleton, tract based spatial statistics1 provides desirable
localised comparisons. However, considering one value at each
point (the highest value found by radial search), increases susceptibility to outliers, and misses the SNR benefit of averaging multiple estimates within a locale. We propose a hybrid method using
tract skeletons to divide streamlines into localised sections, comparing averages within each section. Example results in remitted depression are presented.
