Penalized functional regression analysis of white-matter tract profiles in multiple sclerosis.

ABSTRACT: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables noninvasive parcellation of cerebral white matter into its component fiber bundles or tracts. These tracts often subserve specific functions, and damage to the tracts can therefore result in characteristic forms of disability. Attempts to quantify the extent of tract-specific damage have been limited in part by substantial spatial variation of imaging properties from one end of a tract to the other, variation that can be compounded by the effects of disease. Here, we develop a "penalized functional regression" procedure to analyze spatially normalized tract profiles, which powerfully characterize such spatial variation. The central idea is to identify and emphasize portions of a tract that are more relevant to a clinical outcome score, such as case st

SUBMITTER: Goldsmith J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3114268 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature