White Matter Changes Following Chronic Restraint Stress and Neuromodulation: A Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Young Male Rats.

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive neuromodulation technique, is an effective treatment for depression. However, few studies have used diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the longitudinal effects of rTMS on the abnormal brain white matter (WM) described in depression.

Methods: In this study, we acquired diffusion magnetic resonance imaging from young adult male Sprague Dawley rats to investigate 1) the longitudinal effects of 10- and 1-Hz low-intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS) in healthy animals; 2) the effect of chronic restraint stress (CRS), an animal model of depression; and 3) the effect of 10 Hz LI-rTMS in CRS animals.

Damage Mechanisms to Oligodendrocytes and White Matter in Central Nervous System Injury: The Australian Context.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) present a significant contribution to the global disease burden. White matter tracts are susceptible to both the physical forces of trauma and cascades of pathological secondary degeneration. Oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells of the central nervous system (CNS), and their precursors are particularly vulnerable cell populations and their disruption results in a loss of white matter, dysmyelination, and poor myelin repair.