Faculty Bibliography

The time dependence of the apparent diffusion tensor of ex vivo calf heart and tongue was measured for diffusion times (tau(d)) between 32 and 810 ms. The results showed evidence of restricted diffusion in the muscle tissues of both organs. In regions where the myofibers are parallel, the largest eigenvalue (lambda(1)) of the diffusion tensor remained the same for all diffusion times measured, while the other eigenvalues (lambda(2), lambda(3)) decreased by 29-36% between tau(d) = 32 ms and tau(d) = 400 ms. In regions where the fibers cross, the lambda(1) also changed, decreasing by 17% between tau(d) = 32 ms and tau(d) = 400 ms. The restricting compartment size and volume fraction were effectively estimated by fitting the time courses of the eigenvalues to a model consisting of a nonrestricted compartment and a cylindrically restricted compartment. To our knowledge, this study is the first demonstrating diffusion time dependence of measured water diffusion tensor in muscular tissue. With improvement in scanning technology, future studies may permit noninvasive, in vivo detection of changes in muscle myoarchitecture due to disease, treatment, and exercise.

The correlation between signals acquired using electroencephalography (EEG) and fMRI was investigated in humans during visual stimulation. Evoked potential EEG and BOLD fMRI data were acquired independently under similar conditions from eight subjects during stimulation by a checkerboard flashed at frequencies ranging from 2-12 Hz. The results indicate highly correlated changes in the strength of the EEG signal averaged over two occipital electrodes and the BOLD signal within the occipital lobe as a function of flash frequency for 7/8 subjects (average linear correlation coefficient of 0.76). Both signals peaked at approximately 8 Hz. For one subject the correlation coefficient was 0.20; the EEG signal peaked at 6 Hz and the BOLD signal peaked at 10 Hz. Overall, the EEG and BOLD signals, each averaged over 40-sec stimulation periods, appear to be coupled linearly during visual stimulation by a flashing checkerboard.