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Review
. 2021 Apr;18(2):661-672.
doi: 10.1007/s13311-021-01030-9. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Uses of Human MR and PET Imaging in Research of Neurodegenerative Brain Diseases

Christopher G Schwarz  1
Affiliations
Review

Uses of Human MR and PET Imaging in Research of Neurodegenerative Brain Diseases

Christopher G Schwarz. Neurotherapeutics. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

In the past decades, many neuroimaging studies have aimed to improve the scientific understanding of human neurodegenerative diseases using MRI and PET. This article is designed to provide an overview of the major classes of brain imaging and how/why they are used in this line of research. It is intended as a primer for individuals who are relatively unfamiliar with the methods of neuroimaging research to gain a better understanding of the vocabulary and overall methodologies. It is not intended to describe or review any research findings for any disease or biology, but rather to broadly describe the imaging methodologies that are used in conducting this neurodegeneration research. We will also review challenges and strategies for analyzing neuroimaging data across multiple sites and studies, i.e., harmonization and standardization of imaging data for multi-site and meta-analyses.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Image analyses; Imaging; Neurodegeneration; Research; Review.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Examples of imaging sequences discussed in this work. MRI examples are from one participant in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), while PET examples are from a different ADNI participant. PET scans are shown in false color to emphasize findings
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Examples of processing of T1-w MRI. The top row depicts images in “native space” and the bottom row depicts images in “template space”. All images in the top row, after the original input image, were automatically produced by the segmentation and nonlinear registration (warping) using the pre-defined template/atlas information in the bottom row
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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