BACKGROUND The diffusion tensor imaging technique (DTI) combined with tractography methods, has achieved the tridimensional reconstruction of white matter tracts in the brain. It allows their characterization in vivo in a non-invasive way. However, one of the largest sources of variability originates from the location of regions of interest, is therefore necessary schemes which make it possible to establish a protocol to be insensitive to variations in drawing thereof. The purpose of this paper is to stablish a reliable protocol to reconstruct ten prominent tracts of white matter and characterize them according to volume, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity. Also we explored the relationship among these factors with gender and hemispheric symmetry. METHODS This study aims to characterize ten prominent tracts of white matter in a representative sample of Cuban population using this technique, including 84 healthy subjects. Diffusion tensors and subsequently fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity maps were calculated from each subject's DTI scans. The trajectory of ten brain tracts was estimated by using deterministic tractography methods of fiber tracking. In such tracts, the volume, the FA and MD were calculated, creating a reference for their study in the Cuban population. The interactions between these variables with age, cerebral hemispheres and gender factors were explored using Repeated Measure Analysis of Variance. RESULTS The volume values showed that a most part of tracts have bigger volume in left hemisphere. Also, the data showed bigger values of MD for males than females in all the tracts, an inverse behavior than FA values. CONCLUSIONS This work showed that is possible reconstruct white matter tracts using a unique region of interest scheme defined from standard to native space. Also, this study indicates differing developmental trajectories in white matter for males and females and the importance of taking gender into account in developmental DTI studies and in underlie gender-related cognitive differences.

中文翻译：

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古巴人口代表性样品中十个白质束的表征。

背景技术弥散张量成像技术（DTI）与tractography方法相结合，已经实现了大脑中白质束的三维重建。它允许它们以非侵入性的方式在体内进行表征。然而，最大的可变性来源之一是来自感兴趣区域的位置，因此是必要的方案，其使得有可能建立对其绘制的变化不敏感的协议。本文的目的是建立一个可靠的协议，以重建十个突出的白质区，并根据体积，分数各向异性和平均扩散率对其进行表征。我们还探讨了这些因素与性别和半球对称性之间的关系。方法本研究旨在利用该技术对古巴人口的代表性样本中的十个重要白质特征进行特征分析，其中包括84名健康受试者。从每个受试者的DTI扫描中计算出扩散张量以及随后的分数各向异性和平均扩散率图。通过使用确定性的纤维束追踪术，估算了十个脑道的轨迹。在这样的区域中，对体积，FA和MD进行了计算，为他们在古巴人口中的研究提供了参考。使用方差重复测量分析探讨了这些变量与年龄，大脑半球和性别因素之间的相互作用。结果体积值表明左半球大部分束具有更大的体积。还，数据显示，在所有方面，男性的MD值均大于女性，这与FA值成反比。结论这项工作表明，使用从标准空间到自然空间定义的唯一感兴趣区域方案，可以重建白质区域。此外，这项研究表明，男性和女性在白质方面的发展轨迹不同，并且在发展性DTI研究中以及在与性别相关的认知差异基础中考虑性别的重要性。