Miriam Menzel

Delft University of Technology | TU · Faculty of Applied Sciences (AS)

The correct reconstruction of individual (crossing) nerve fibers is a prerequisite when constructing a detailed network model of the brain. The recently developed technique Scattered Light Imaging (SLI) allows the reconstruction of crossing nerve fiber pathways in whole brain tissue samples with micrometer resolution: The individual fiber orientati...

For developing a detailed network model of the brain based on image reconstructions, it is necessary to spatially resolve crossing nerve fibers. The accuracy hereby depends on many factors, including the spatial resolution of the imaging technique. 3D Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) allows the three-dimensional reconstruction of nerve fiber tracts...

Previous simulation studies by Menzel et al. [Phys. Rev. X 10, 021002 (2020)] have shown that scattering patterns of light transmitted through artificial nerve fiber constellations contain valuable information about the tissue substructure such as the individual fiber orientations in regions with crossing nerve fibers. Here, we present a method tha...

Unraveling the structure and function of the brain requires a detailed knowledge about the neuronal connections, i.e., the spatial architecture of the nerve fibers. One of the most powerful histological methods to reconstruct the three-dimensional nerve fiber pathways is 3D-polarized light imaging (3D-PLI). The technique measures the birefringence...

Microstructural tissue organization underlies the complex connectivity of the brain and controls properties of connective, muscle, and epithelial tissue. However, discerning microstructural architecture with high resolution for large fields of view remains prohibitive. We address this challenge with computational scattered light imaging (ComSLI), w...

Disentangling human brain connectivity requires an accurate description of nerve fiber trajectories, unveiled via detailed mapping of axonal orientations. However, this is challenging because axons can cross one another on a micrometer scale. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) can be used to infer axonal connectivity because it is sensitiv...

Myelinated axons (nerve fibers) efficiently transmit signals throughout the brain via action potentials. Multiple methods that are sensitive to axon orientations, from microscopy to magnetic resonance imaging, aim to reconstruct the brain's structural connectome. As billions of nerve fibers traverse the brain with various possible geometries at eac...

We improve the determination of nerve fiber orientations in brain tissue sections that have been measured with Computational Scattered Light Imaging by close examination of low intensity signals with iterative thresholding.

We present a method for direct imaging of nerve fiber orientations in cell-body stained histological brain sections, which was not yet possible for paraffin-treated tissue.

Disentangling human brain connectivity requires an accurate description of neuronal trajectories. However, a detailed mapping of axonal orientations is challenging because axons can cross one another on a micrometer scale. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) can be used to infer neuronal connectivity because it is sensitive to axonal alignm...

Myelinated axons (nerve fibers) efficiently transmit signals throughout the brain via action potentials. Multiple methods that are sensitive to axon orientations, from microscopy to magnetic resonance imaging, aim to reconstruct the brain’s structural connectome. As billions of nerve fibers traverse the brain with various possible geometries at eac...

Scattered Light Imaging (SLI) is a novel approach for microscopically revealing the fibre architecture of unstained brain sections. The measurements are obtained by illuminating brain sections from different angles and measuring the transmitted (scattered) light under normal incidence. The evaluation of scattering profiles commonly relies on a peak...

The method 3D polarised light imaging (3D-PLI) measures the birefringence of histological brain sections to determine the spatial course of nerve fibres (myelinated axons). While the in-plane fibre directions can be determined with high accuracy, the computation of the out-of-plane fibre inclinations is more challenging because they are derived fro...

The correct reconstruction of individual (crossing) nerve fibers is a prerequisite when constructing a detailed network model of the brain. The recently developed technique Scattered Light Imaging (SLI) allows the reconstruction of crossing nerve fiber pathways in whole brain tissue samples with micrometer resolution: the individual fiber orientati...

The method 3D polarised light imaging (3D-PLI) measures the birefringence of histological brain sections to determine the spatial course of nerve fibres (myelinated axons). While the in-plane fibre directions can be determined with high accuracy, the computation of the out-of-plane fibre inclinations is more challenging because they are derived fro...

In recent years, Independent Component Analysis (ICA) has successfully been applied to remove noise and artifacts in images obtained from Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) at the mesoscale (i.e., 64 μm). Here, we present an automatic denoising procedure for gray matter regions that allows to apply the ICA also to microscopic images...

Analyzing the structure of neuronal fibers with single axon resolution in large volumes is a challenge in connectomics. Different technologies try to address this goal; however, they are limited either by the ineffective labeling of the fibers or in the achievable resolution. The possibility of discriminating between different adjacent myelinated a...

We present SLI Scatterometry : Scattered Light Imaging performed with individually controllable LEDs, allowing the measurement of full scattering patterns for each image pixel in a brain tissue sample, revealing complex nerve fiber architectures.

In recent years, Independent Component Analysis (ICA) has successfully been applied to remove noise and artifacts in images obtained from Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) at the mesoscale (i.e., 64 $\mu$m). Here, we present an automatic denoising procedure for gray matter regions that allows to apply the ICA also to microscopic im...

For developing a detailed network model of the brain based on image reconstructions, it is necessary to spatially resolve crossing nerve fibers. The accuracy hereby depends on many factors, including the spatial resolution of the imaging technique. 3D Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) allows the three-dimensional reconstruction of nerve fiber pathwa...

Analyzing the structure of neuronal fibers with single axon resolution, in large volumes, remains an unresolved challenge in connectomics. Here, we propose MAGIC (Myelin Autofluorescence imaging by Glycerol Induced Contrast enhancement), a simple tissue preparation method to perform label-free fluorescence imaging of myelinated fibers. We demonstra...

Previous simulation studies by Menzel et al. [Phys. Rev. X 10, 021002 (2020)] have shown that scattering patterns of light transmitted through artificial nerve fiber constellations contain valuable information about the tissue substructure such as the crossing angles of the fibers. Here, we present a method that measures these scattering patterns i...

We show that light scattering measurements of brain tissue reveal valuable information about the underlying tissue structure such as the crossing angle of the nerve fibers.

Purpose The technique 3D polarized light imaging (3D-PLI) allows to reconstruct nerve fiber orientations of postmortem brains with ultra-high resolution. To better understand the physical principles behind 3D-PLI and improve the accuracy and reliability of the reconstructed fiber orientations, numerical simulations are employed which use synthetic...

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We explore the polarization-(in)dependent transmitted light intensity of histological brain sections. Using experimental and simulation studies, we demonstrate that it contains valuable information about nerve fiber architecture and tissue structure.

When transmitting polarised light through histological brain sections, different types of diattenuation (polarisation-dependent attenuation of light) can be observed: In some brain regions, the light is minimally attenuated when it is polarised parallel to the nerve fibres (referred to as D+), in others, it is maximally attenuated (referred to as D...

The neuroimaging technique Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) reconstructs the brain’s nerve fiber architecture by transmitting polarized light through histological brain sections and measuring their birefringence. Measurements have shown that the polarization-independent transmitted light intensity (transmittance) depends on the ou...

In brain tissue, two different types of diattenuation (polarization-dependent attenuation) can be observed: in some brain regions, the light is minimally (maximally) attenuated when it is polarized parallel to the nerve fibers, referred to as $D^+$ ($D^-$). Here, we demonstrate that diattenuation of type $D^+$ or $D^-$ is observed in brain tissue s...

The neuroimaging technique Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) is used to reconstruct the brain's nerve fiber architecture by transmitting polarized light through histological brain sections and measuring their birefringence. Here, we demonstrate in experimental studies that the polarization-independent transmitted light intensity (t...

3D-polarized light imaging (3D-PLI) reconstructs nerve fibers in histological brain sections by measuring their birefringence. This study investigates another effect caused by the optical anisotropy of brain tissue – diattenuation. Based on numerical and experimental studies and a complete analytical description of the optical system, the diattenua...

In this work, we employ an integrated label-free dual approach that combines 3D-Polarized light imaging with two-photon fluorescence microscopy to study the mixture of various fiber orientations within the sample of interest.

Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) is a promising technique to reconstruct the nerve fiber architecture of human post-mortem brains from birefringence measurements of histological brain sections with micrometer resolution. To better understand how the reconstructed fiber orientations are related to the underlying fiber structure, nu...

Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) is a promising technique to reconstruct the nerve fiber architecture of human post-mortem brains from birefringence measurements of histological brain sections with micrometer resolution. To better understand how the reconstructed fiber orientations are related to the underlying fiber structure, nu...

The neuroimaging technique three-dimensional polarized light imaging (3D-PLI) provides a high-resolution reconstruction of nerve fibres in human post-mortem brains. The orientations of the fibres are derived from birefringence measurements of histological brain sections assuming that the nerve fibres - consisting of an axon and a surrounding myelin...

3D Polarized Light Imaging is a neuroimaging technique that provides a high-resolution reconstruction of nerve fiber pathways in human postmortem brains. The spatial fiber orientations are derived from birefringence measurements of histological brain sections which are interpreted by a macroscopic model of uniaxial birefringence. In order to valida...

3D Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) is a neuroimaging technique that has opened up new avenues to study the complex architecture of nerve fibers in postmortem brains. The spatial orientations of the fibers are derived from birefringence measurements of unstained histological brain sections that are interpreted by a voxel-based analysis. This, howev...

Three-dimensional Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) is a neuroimaging technique that is able to reconstruct the pathways of nerve fibers in post-mortem brains at the micrometer scale: By transmitting polarized light through histological brain sections in a polarimeter, the birefringence of the nerve fibers is measured, thus revealing their spatial o...