Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review and a Technical Note

While major psychiatric disorders lack signature diagnostic neuropathologies akin to dementias, classic postmortem studies have established microstructural involvement, i.e., cellular changes in neurons and glia, as a key pathophysiological finding. Advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques allow mapping of cellular tissue architecture and microstructural abnormalities in vivo, which holds promise for advancing our understanding of the pathophysiology underlying psychiatric disorders. Here, we performed a systematic review of case-control studies using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to assess brain microstructure in psychiatric disorders and a selective review of technical considerations in NODDI. Of the 584 potentially relevant articles, 18 studies met the criteria to be included in this systematic review. We found a general theme of abnormal gray and white matter microstructure across the diagnostic spectrum. We also noted significant variability in patterns of neurite density and fiber orientation within and across diagnostic groups, as well as associations between brain microstructure and phenotypical variables. NODDI has been successfully used to detect subtle microstructure abnormalities in patients with psychiatric disorders. Given that NODDI indices may provide a more direct link to pathophysiological processes, this method may not only contribute to advancing our mechanistic understanding of disease processes, it may also be well positioned for next-generation biomarker development studies.