A better understanding of the complex water diffusion dynamics in the extra-axonal environment may aid in the mathematical modeling of the diffusion MRI signal and have application to pathologies that specifically impact glial cells and the surrounding extracellular space. Here we employ a novel method of combining diffusion MRI data for weak and strong diffusion weightings to show that extra-axonal water diffusion anisotropy strongly correlates with intra-axonal diffusion anisotropy and takes on large values in voxels with highly aligned axons. This connection suggests that the geometrical alignment of axonal fibers is important for both intra-axonal and extra-axonal water diffusion.
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