Keywords: Neuro: Brain, Contrast mechanisms: Diffusion, Contrast mechanisms: Microstructure
During a head impact, brain tissues deform due to the force act on the skull. The shearing and stretching of brain tissue structures affect both the function and connectivity of the brain. Diffusion MRI is highly sensitive to structural changes at the microscopic level. This lecture will introduce the microstructure changes associated with traumatic brain injury and how diffusion tensor imaging can probe them. Cutting-edge diffusion-MRI based microstructure imaging techniques and their emerging role in the study of brain damage will also be discussed.