Bulk Flow of Cerebrospinal Fluid in the Cervicothoracic Spine

Unknown patterns within cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow complicate the understanding and treatment of neurological disease. Previous research using phase-contrast MRI purported that CSF in the spine exhibited a pattern of flow toward the cranium in wider areas and caudal flow in more narrow areas. By performing the non-invasive CSF tagging technique, TimeSTAMP MRI (4,480 discrete measurements in 17 patients) and visualizing all CSF displacement measurement in an overlaid fashion, stratified by location along the spine, we report bulk caudal flow in the anterior cervicothoracic spine and rostral flow in the posterior cervicothoracic spine. This supports the presence of distinct CSF currents relative to location along the spine.