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基于弥散张量成像的脑白质微结构量化分析方法及其在慢性疼痛研究中的应用

李睿枭, 穆俊娅, 刘继欣^*

西安电子科技大学生命科学技术学院，西安 710126

摘要

大脑的中枢神经系统主要由白质和灰质组成，其中白质主要由神经元的轴突集聚而成，构成的神经纤维用于各个脑区之间的信息传递，实现整个大脑的协调运作。早期对白质的研究只能通过对动物活体或人类尸体进行解剖，直至1994年Basser等人提出弥散张量成像(diffusion tensor imaging, DTI)技术，该技术能够无创地在活体中检测大脑内水分子的扩散运动，根据白质内水分子的弥散特性来获取白质纤维束的走形方向信息以及微观解剖结构信息。利用DTI技术显示和分析白质纤维束的解剖结构，探索微观病理改变，辅助临床诊断和神经生理学研究，已经成为脑科学研究的热点之一。慢性疼痛是指持续3个月以上的疼痛，严重影响了躯体和社会功能，较大程度地降低了患者的生活质量。已有研究发现长期的疼痛刺激可能会使中枢神经系统发生病理性重构，并且对慢性疼痛患者进行影像学检查时发现了脑白质异常。本文在介绍基于DTI的大脑白质纤维束微结构量化分析方法的同时，阐述了其在慢性疼痛研究中的应用，进一步讨论DTI技术对慢性疼痛临床研究的应用价值。

关键词： 弥散张量成像; 白质; 量化分析方法; 慢性疼痛

分类号：R445;R441.1

Quantitative analysis methods of white matter microstructure based on diffusion tensor imaging and its application in chronic pain research

LI Rui-Xiao, MU Jun-Ya, LIU Ji-Xin^*

College of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an 710126, China

Abstract

As the two essential components, the white matter and gray matter compose the central nervous system of the brain. Widely known that axons of neurons mainly form the white matter, and these formed nerve fibers are responsible for transmitting information among various brain regions to achieve the coordinated operation of the entire brain. Early research on the white matter could only be done by dissecting living animals or human cadavers, until Basser et al. proposed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technology in 1994, which could detect the diffusion characteristics of water in the brain in vivo noninvasively. Accordingly, this technology could be applied to investigate the diffusion movement of water in white matter to obtain the information of direction and micro-anatomy of white matter fiber bundles. With the advancement on the display and analysis of the anatomical structure of white matter fiber bundles, the exploration of microscopic pathological changes, and the assistance of clinical diagnosis and neurophysiological research, DTI technology has become one of the most popular topics in brain science research. Chronic pain refers to pain lasting more than three months, which not only seriously affects the patient’s physical and social functions, but also dramatically reduces the quality of life. It was reported that long-term pain stimulation might cause pathological remodeling of the central nervous system, and abnormalities in white matter were found in imaging examinations of patients with chronic pain. This review introduces the quantitative analysis methods of white matter fiber bundle microstructure based on DTI and its application in chronic pain, and further discusses the application value of DTI technology on clinical research of chronic pain.

Key words: diffusion tensor imaging; white matter; quantitative analysis method; chronic pain

收稿日期：2020-06-05　　录用日期：2020-11-04

通讯作者：刘继欣　　E-mail: jymu@xidian.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2021.0030

引用本文：

李睿枭, 穆俊娅, 刘继欣. 基于弥散张量成像的脑白质微结构量化分析方法及其在慢性疼痛研究中的应用[J]. 生理学报 2021; 73 (3): 407-422.

LI Rui-Xiao, MU Jun-Ya, LIU Ji-Xin. Quantitative analysis methods of white matter microstructure based on diffusion tensor imaging and its application in chronic pain research. Acta Physiol Sin 2021; 73 (3): 407-422 (in Chinese with English abstract).