Cape Town - 2026 ISMRM-ISMRT Annual Meeting and Exhibition - Probing Brain Microstructure with Water: Applications

Probing Brain Microstructure with Water: Applications

Oral

Diffusion

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

Ballroom East

08:20 - 10:10

Moderators: Jessie Mosso & Jelle Veraart

Session Number: 504-02

CME/CE Credit Available

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This session explores diffusion weighted imaging methods that are able to map brain tissue microstructure, spanning from neural plasticity to neuroinflammation, to brain tumors and injury.

Skill Level: Intermediate

08:20		504-02-001. Simultaneous real-time NMR and microscopy for validation of diffusion microstructure biomarkers Nathan Williamson, Rea Ravin, Teddy Cai, Peter Basser The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, United States of America Impact: Simultaneous real-time NMR and microscopy reveal how diffusion and exchange metrics respond to osmotic and ionic challenges in viable ex vivo neural tissue, enabling direct validation of MRI-based microstructural biomarkers and bridging the gap between neurophysiology and radiological measurements.
08:31		504-02-002. Lifespan Normative Modeling of Diffusion MRI in 54,583 Participants and Deployment on Local Data Julio Villalon Reina, Alyssa Zhu, Sebastian Benavidez, Clara Moreau, Yixue Feng, Tamoghna Chattopadhyay, Leila Nabulsi, Leila Kushan, Carrie Bearden, John John, Himanshu Joshi, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian, Sophia Thomopoulos, Katherine Lawrence, Talia Nir, Neda Jahanshad, Seyed Kia, Andre Marquand, Paul Thompson Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States of America Impact: We deploy trained large-scale normative models of white matter DTI metrics on local datasets. We released the trained models and open-source software to support adaptation of DTI normative models across diverse imaging protocols and international research sites.
08:42		504-02-003. Altered Developmental Trajectories and Behavioral Correlates After Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescent Rats Pin-Hui Kuo, Yun-Yun Liu, Huai-An Kuo, Bao-Yu Hsieh, Chia-Feng Lu, Yu-Chieh Jill Kao National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan Impact: This study demonstrates that adolescent repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) disrupts microstructural and behavioral development. Longitudinal diffusion MRI reveals altered cortical and callosal maturation, identifying potential imaging biomarkers for early detection and intervention during adolescent brain development.
08:53		504-02-004. Biophysical Drivers of Cortical Water Exchange: Evidence for a Synaptic Signature in Diffusion MRI Marco Palombo, Carolyn McNabb, Neil Harrison, Mara Cercignani, Derek Jones, Maëliss Jallais Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom Impact: Exchange-sensitive time-dependent dMRI reveals a synaptic signature of cortical water exchange: exchange rate aligns positively with SV2A and negatively with myelin, enabling a non-invasive, radiation-free surrogate for synaptic architecture with translational potential in neurodegeneration, psychiatry, and longitudinal monitoring.
09:04		504-02-005. Probing water exchange and structural disorder in the human brain with oscillating-gradient diffusion MRI Dongsuk Sung, Kwok-Shing Chan, Julianna Gerold, Wen Zhong, Jialan Zheng, Qiyuan Tian, Hua Guo, Susie Huang, Hong Hsi Lee Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, United States of America Impact: Frequency-dependent diffusion signals measured by using oscillating-gradient sequences are sensitive to structural disorder and water exchange, enabling accurate mapping of microstructural dynamics and advancing noninvasive characterization of tissue organization and exchange processes in the human brain.
09:15		504-02-006. In vivo quantification of unmyelinated axons in brain white matter using diffusion MRI Ricardo Coronado-Leija, Yoko Bekku, Jiangyang Zhang, James Salzer, Dmitry Novikov, Els Fieremans Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI²R), New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, United States of America Impact: The fraction of unmyelinated axons $f_u$ could be a potential new biomarker for axon-sparing demyelination in a myriad of neurological disorders. In this work, we demonstrate how $f_u$ can be estimated from time-dependent diffusion MRI.
09:26		504-02-007. Transcriptional and Neurotransmitter Signatures of Increased Brain Free Water in Parkinson’s Disease Dongling Zhang, Junye Yao, Lingyan Ma, Tao Feng, Hongjian HE, Tao Wu Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China Impact: This study links diffusion MRI–derived free-water increases to synaptic and GABAergic gene programs in Parkinson’s disease, enabling mechanistic biomarkers for progression/stratification and motivating trials that target synaptic integrity and excitation–inhibition balance.
09:37		504-02-008. Detecting Neuroinflammation in the Human Brain Using SANDI: Evidence from an LPS Challenge Model George Tackley, Natalie Jones, Maryam Afzali, Kadir Şimşek, Andrè Döring, Jonathan Underwood, James Coulson, Claire MacIver, Yaseen Rehman, Ella Kugele, Sara Obudi, Marco Palombo, Neil Harrison, Mara Cercignani Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom Impact: Our findings show that SANDI MRI sensitively captures inflammation-related microstructural alterations, supporting its promise as a non-invasive biomarker for neuroinflammation. This approach may facilitate early diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory contributions to neurodegenerative and mental health disorders.
09:48		504-02-009. Microstructural underpinnings of brain plasticity within the language area in patients with frontotemporal low-grade glioma Patryk Filipiak, Kamri Clarke, Timothy Shepherd, Dimitris Placantonakis, Fernando Boada, Steven Baete The Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), Department of Radiology, NYU Langone Health, New York, United States of America Impact: Brain plasticity can support treatment of cerebral tumors, although most existing modalities only observe it in cortical regions. Our approach aims to quantify brain plasticity in peritumoral white matter to use it proactively in neurosurgery for optimizing the resection volume.
09:59		504-02-010. Time-Dependent Diffusion MRI: A Novel Perspective on Pre-dicting Pituitary Macroadenoma Consistency Wenxing Cai , Yin Mo, Shaosi Duan, Qian Han, Meining Chen, Wei Sheng Medical imaging department，First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China Impact: This td-dMRI model enables noninvasive prediction of pituitary macroadenoma consistency , reduces surgeons' reliance on intraoperative palpation and supporting precise preoperative planning;, while lowering patient risks and promoting personalized treatment.