Aw. Anderson et al., EFFECTS OF OSMOTICALLY DRIVEN CELL-VOLUME CHANGES ON DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED IMAGING OF THE RAT OPTIC-NERVE, Magnetic resonance in medicine, 35(2), 1996, pp. 162-167
The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the rat optic nerve was me
asured in vitro, using magnetic resonance imaging, to determine the ef
fects of changes in cellular volume fraction on the diffusion of tissu
e water, Nerve ADC was determined under conditions of cell membrane de
polarization and (i) increased intracellular volume, (ii) decreased in
tracellular volume, and (iii) negligible volume change. Depolarization
alone had little affect on ADC, whereas volume changes produced stron
g, reversible effects, Increased cell volume decreased ADC and vice ve
rsa. These results are consistent with the view that changes in the ex
tracellular space are the major source of ADC changes in brain tissue.