Patient-specific computational modeling of Cortical Spreading Depression via Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Abstract

Cortical Spreading Depression (CSD), a depolarization wave originat- ing in the visual cortex and traveling towards the frontal lobe, is com- monly accepted as a correlate of migraine visual aura. As of today, little is known about the mechanisms that can trigger or stop such phenomenon. However, the complex and highly individual characteristics of the brain cortex suggest that the geometry might have a significant impact in sup- porting or contrasting the propagation of CSD. Accurate patient-specific computational models are fundamental to cope with the high variability in cortical geometries among individuals, but also with the conduction anisotropy induced in a given cortex by the complex neuronal organisa- tion in the grey matter. In this paper we integrate a distributed model for extracellular potassium concentration with patient-specific diffusivity tensors derived locally from Diffusion Tensor Imaging data.