Age-related decline in brain white matter anisotropy measured with spatially corrected echo-planar diffusion tensor imaging

Echo planar (EP) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) permits in vivo identificat ion of the orientation and coherence of brain white matter tracts but suffe rs from field inhomogeneity-induced geometric distortion. To reduce spatial distortion, polynomial warping corrections were applied and the effects te sted on measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) in the genu and splenium of corpus callosum. Implementation entailed spatially warping EP images obtain ed without diffusion weighting (b = 0) to long-echo T-2-weighted fast spin echo images, collected for anatomical delineation, tissue segmentation, and coregistration with the diffusion images. Using the optimal warping proced ure (third-order polynomial), the effects of age on FA and a quantitative m easure of intervoxel coherence (C) in the genu, splenium, centrum semiovale , and frontal and parietal pericallosal white matter were examined in 31 he althy men (23-76 years). FA declined significantly with age in all regions except the splenium, whereas intervoxel coherence positively correlated wit h age in the genu. Magn Reson Med 44:259-268, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, In c.