Diffusion tensor imaging tractography in the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) brain

INTRODUCTION: Tractography is a technique used to trace the pathways of the brain using noninvasive diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data. It is becoming increasingly popular for investigating the brains of domestic mammals and other animals with myelinated fibers but the principle of DTI can also apply for those with unmyelinated fibers. In the case of camels, DTI tractography is a promising method for enhancing current knowledge of the brain’s structural connectivity and identifying white-matter tract changes potentially linked to neurodegenerative pathologies. The present study was therefore designed to describe representative white-matter tracts in the one-humped camel DTI tractography. METHODS: Post mortem DTI was used to obtain images of two one-humped camel brains using a 3 Tesla system. T2-weighted images were also acquired to identify regions of interest for each fiber tract and a fiber dissection technique was used to complement the DT images. The main association, commissural, and projection fibers were reconstructed and superimposed on T2-weighted images or fractional anisotropy maps. RESULTS: The results of the present study show the reconstruction of the most representative tracts, ie the cingulum, the corpus callosum and the internal capsule, in the one-humped camel brain using DTI data acquired post mortem. These DTI results were compared to those from fiber dissection. DISCUSSION: Anatomy of the cingulum, corpus callosum and internal capsule correlates well with the description in anatomical textbooks and appears to be similar to fibers describe in large animals. Further research will be required to improve and validate these findings and to generate a tractography atlas based on MRI and histological data, as such an atlas would be a valuable resource for future neuroimaging research.