The Role of Incidental Magnetization Transfer in Divided Subtracted Inversion Recovery

Divided subtracted inversion recovery (dSIR) images show abnormal changes in the white matter of the brain in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) due to an increase in the apparent T 1 compared to normal controls. The present study aims to understand the origin of the T 1 difference in terms of incidental magnetization transfer (MT). Results show that white matter in normal controls has dSIR signal (T 1 ), attributable to MT, while patients with mTBI exhibit little or no reduction. The study identifies a plausible mechanism for the dSIR signal differences. This may lead to more effective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods for detecting mTBI and other conditions affecting the brain.