Cited by 11Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsAdvanced MRI Techniques and ApplicationsFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

Mapping Activity and Functional Organisation of the Motor and Visual Pathways Using ADC ‐ fMRI in the Human Brain

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Nguyen‐Duc, Jasmine, de Riedmatten, Ines, Spencer, Arthur P. C., Perot, Jean‐Baptiste, Olszowy, Wiktor, Jelescu, Ileana·2025·Human Brain Mapping

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Abstract

In contrast to blood‐oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI), which relies on changes in blood flow and oxygenation levels to infer brain activity, diffusion fMRI (DfMRI) investigates brain dynamics by monitoring alterations in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water. These ADC changes may arise from fluctuations in neuronal morphology, providing a distinctive perspective on neural activity. The potential of ADC as an fMRI contrast (ADC‐fMRI) lies in its capacity to reveal neural activity independently of neurovascular coupling, thus yielding complementary insights into brain function. To demonstrate the specificity and value of ADC‐fMRI, both ADC‐ and BOLD‐fMRI data were collected at 3 T in human subjects during visual stimulation and motor tasks. The first aim of this study was to identify an acquisition design for ADC that minimises BOLD contributions. By examining the timings in responses, we report that ADC 0/1 timeseries (acquired with b values of 0 and 1 ms/) exhibit residual vascular contamination, while ADC 0.2/1 timeseries (with b values of 0.2 and 1 ms/) show minimal BOLD influence and higher sensitivity to neuromorphological coupling. Second, a general linear model was employed to identify activation clusters for ADC 0.2/1 and BOLD, from which the average ADC and BOLD responses were calculated. The negative ADC response exhibited a significantly reduced delay relative to the task onset and offset as compared to BOLD. This early onset further supports the notion that ADC is sensitive to neuromorphological rather than neurovascular coupling. Remarkably, in the group‐level analysis, positive BOLD activation clusters were detected in the visual and motor cortices, while the negative ADC clusters mainly highlighted pathways in white matter connected to the motor cortex. In the averaged individual level analysis, negative ADC activation clusters were also present in the visual cortex. This finding confirmed the reliability of negative ADC as an indicator of brain function, even in regions with lower vascularisation such as white matter. Finally, we established that ADC‐fMRI time courses yield the expected functional organisation of the visual system, including both grey and white matter regions of interest. Functional connectivity matrices were used to perform hierarchical clustering of brain regions, where ADC‐fMRI successfully reproduced the expected structure of the dorsal and ventral visual pathways. This organisation was not replicated with the b = 0.2 ms/ diffusion‐weighted time courses, which can be seen as a proxy for BOLD (via T 2 ‐weighting). These findings underscore the robustness of ADC time courses in functional MRI studies, offering complementary insights into BOLD‐fMRI regarding brain function and connectivity patterns.

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  • DfMRI may offer greater spatial and temporal precision than BOLD, including potential sensitivity in white matter, where BOLD fMRI is challenging.

    “DfMRI may, therefore, offer greater spatial and temporal precision than BOLD, including potential sensitivity in white matter, where BOLD fMRI is challenging (de Riedmatten, Spencer, Nguyen-Duc, et al., 2025; Nguyen-Duc et al., 2025; Spencer et al., 2025).”

    From 40 Years of diffusion MRI in the brain: From history to emerging frontiers (2026) · cites this paper as Nguyen-Duc et al., 2025

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  1. Fischl, B. 2012. “ Freesurfer.” NeuroImage 62, no. 2: 774– 781. Epub 2012 Jan 10. 22248573 PMC3685476
  2. Jenkinson, M., C. F. Beckmann, T. E. J. Behrens, M. W. Woolrich, and S. M. Smith. 2012. “ Fsl.” NeuroImage 62, no. 2: 782– 790. 21979382
  3. Le Bihan, D. 2019. “ What Can We See With IVIM MRI?” Physiological and Quantitative MRI 187: 56– 67. 29277647

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Authors
Nguyen‐Duc, J., de Riedmatten, I., Spencer, A. P. C., Perot, J., Olszowy, W., & Jelescu, I.
Affiliations
  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CH)
  • Department of Radiology Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL) Lausanne Switzerland
  • DSM (Switzerland) (CH)
Corresponding author
Nguyen‐Duc, Jasmine
Venue
Human Brain Mapping
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2025-01-21
Volume
46
Issue
2
Pages
e70110-e70110
ISSN
  • 1065-9471 (ISSN-L)
  • 1097-0193
OpenAlex
W4406676801
Cited by
11
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 7
FWCI
6.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Human Brain Mapping (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • IRIS (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (190882)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
apparent diffusion coefficient, diffusion MRI, BOLD fMRI, neurovascular coupling, motor cortex, visual cortex, dorsal visual pathway, ventral stream, white matter, functional connectivity, brain activation mapping, visual stimulation, motor tasks
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Efferent Pathways, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motor Cortex, Oxygen, Photic Stimulation, Visual Pathways, Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Young Adult

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