Water diffusion in tissues is known to be non-Gaussian. Moreover, two different water regimes have been found in brain tissue and assigned to a bulk-like compartment and water in contact with macromolecules. Here, we investigate the influence of membranes in post-mortem white matter, which are assumed to be responsible for the second pool observed in MR-diffusion measurements. Using a newly developed CLARITY method, which removes lipids from brain tissue while keeping the brain structure intact, we found that the slow compartment vanished while the mobility of the fast pool increased, which directly demonstrates the influence of membranes on water dynamics.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.