Rat stroke model with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) is easy, safe, and less affective to the nature progress of cerebral edema and intracranial pressure, and has been widely used in the study of cerebral ischemia. MCAO model has been used in studies with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which is enable assessment of the spatial and temporal patterns of functional and structural changes inside and outside ischemic areas in vivo to elaborate pathophysiological process after stroke. The traditional DTI allows estimation of the structural integrity and connectivity of white matter tracts. Some new DTI technologies, such as diffusion spectral imaging (DSI), the Q-ball imaging, and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), extend the benefits of conventional DTI. Using these new imaging methods and the MCAO model provides a unique mean to discover the dynamic structural and functional changes after onset of stroke and to predict outcome and evaluate drug efficacy. This article outlines the methods and the latest progress of DTI and functional MRI based on the rat ’s MCAO model.%大鼠脑卒中模型具有诸多优点，其中大脑中动脉阻塞（MCAO）模型以其手术简单、成功率高、不影响脑缺血后脑水肿和颅内压等病生理变化，已广泛应用于局灶性脑缺血的研究。一些基于MCAO模型的神经放射学技术，如扩散张量成像（DTI），能够在活体状态下，评价脑缺血后大脑功能和结构的时间与空间上的改变，这有助于揭示脑卒中后的病生理过程。传统DTI能够评价组织结构完整性和白质连接，而一些DTI新技术，如扩散波谱成像（DSI）、Q-ball成像和扩散峰度成像（DKI）更是提高了这项技术的应用能力。这些基于MCAO模型的MRI研究，可提供良好的手段去发现脑卒中后组织结构与功能长时间的改变，并以此为基础，研究脑缺血的转归和一些药物的疗效。就基于MCAO模型的DTI研究最新进展予以综述。
展开▼
