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Fractional anisotropy – a measure often used in diffusion imaging where it is thought to reflect fiber density, axonal diameter, and myelination in white matter. The FA is an extension of the concept of eccentricity of conic sections in three dimensions, normalized to the unit range.
White matter is named for its relatively light appearance resulting from the lipid content of myelin. However, the tissue of the freshly cut brain appears pinkish-white to the naked eye because myelin is composed largely of lipid tissue veined with capillaries. Its white color in prepared specimens is due to its usual preservation in formaldehyde.
Myelin is formed by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system.Therefore, the first stage of myelinogenesis is often defined as the differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) or Schwann cell progenitors into their mature counterparts, [4] followed by myelin formation around axons.
MRI scans showing hyperintensities. A hyperintensity or T2 hyperintensity is an area of high intensity on types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain of a human or of another mammal that reflect lesions produced largely by demyelination and axonal loss.
The first MR images of a human brain were obtained in 1978 by two groups of researchers at EMI Laboratories led by Ian Robert Young and Hugh Clow. [1] In 1986, Charles L. Dumoulin and Howard R. Hart at General Electric developed MR angiography, [2] and Denis Le Bihan obtained the first images and later patented diffusion MRI. [3]
Myelination gives metabolic support to, and insulates the axons of most vertebrates. [1] A single oligodendrocyte can extend its processes to cover up to 40 axons, that can include multiple adjacent axons. [2] The myelin sheath is not continuous but is segmented along the axon's length at gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier.
This organization demands a tight developmental control and the formation of a variety of specialized zones of contact between different areas of the myelinating cell membrane. Each node of Ranvier is flanked by paranodal regions where helicoidally wrapped glial loops are attached to the axonal membrane by a septate-like junction.
The process of generating myelin is called myelination or myelinogenesis. In the CNS, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes, which form myelin. In humans, myelination begins early in the 3rd trimester, [ 11 ] although only little myelin is present in either the CNS or the PNS at the time of birth.