Improving the sensitivity and specificity of diffusion MRI

The project has three specific aims: 1) Develop and validate improved methods for sub-voxel fiber identification and tissue characterization, comparing new methods with current leading algorithms using confocal microscopy data from squirrel monkeys as ground truth. 2) Determine the reproducibility of fiber-specific diffusion properties through space and time, and their dependence on tissue microstructure, as measured by optical microscopy. 3) Quantify the intersubject variability of fiber-specific diffusion properties in both squirrel monkeys and human subjects, expanding brain atlases to include these new properties and testing hypotheses about their reproducibility and lower intersubject variability compared to current DMRI measures.