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Open research questions in Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

407 gap statements mined from Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,674 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The gap is the limited understanding of the complex interactions between white matter lesions, diabetes, and cognitive outcomes. The paper also identifies a need for more research on the effects of diabetes on the development of white matter lesions.

    Discrete White Matter Lesions in Clusters and Harmony: Using Oblique Strategies to Study Brain Aging · 2026 · DOI

  • Among the many open issues for continued investigation are further quantitative studies (of both the transverse AC and the adjoining PAC), further comparisons across a larger number of species, and more complete 3D reconstruction of both the transverse AC and the adjoining PAC, including the vascular components.

    Intricate mesoscale organization of the anterior commissure in the rhesus monkey, with implications for neuroimaging · 2026 · DOI

  • Although the cross-sectional design precludes causal moderated mediation analyses identified potential pathways linking MLF disorganization, cannabis use severity, and impulsivity, it remains unclear whether WM abnormalities precede heavier cannabis use and steeper discounting, or whether chronic exposure contributes to these changes.

    White matter signatures of addiction diverge across opioids, cannabis and nicotine and predict impulsive choice in cannabis dependence · 2026 · DOI

  • Although our results revealed differences in white matter abnormalities between strabismus participants with and without amblyopia, the inherent differences in central pathological mechanisms between strabismus and strabismus-induced amblyopia remain unclear and merit further examination in future neuroimaging and electrophysiology studies.

    Abnormal white matter in the visual pathways of strabismus with and without amblyopia · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for high-quality DTI data with a large number of diffusion-encoding directions. The limitations of conventional denoising methods in reducing noise in diffusion-weighted images. The lack of a deep learning-based method to enhance diffusion tensor parametric maps derived from reduced-direction acquisitions.

    Improved diffusion tensor parametric maps in the brain from reduced-direction acquisitions using a deep learning approach · 2026 · DOI

  • These findings suggested that PSMD may be a useful imaging marker for assessing white matter changes in SE and warrant further investigation into its association with underlying vascular and nonvascular mechanisms.

    Increased Peak Width of Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity in Status Epilepticus: Implication for Diffuse White Matter Microstructural Alteration · 2026 · DOI

  • The microstructural tissue properties of cerebellar-VTA white matter pathways have not been examined in first-episode psychosis. The relationship between cerebellar-VTA pathway alterations and cognitive deficits in first-episode psychosis is not well understood.

    Microstructural Alterations of the Cerebellum–Ventral Tegmental Area Pathways in First-Episode Psychosis · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper acknowledges that the study is limited by its cross-sectional design, and that future studies should use longitudinal designs to investigate the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and white matter microstructure. The study highlights the challenge of investigating complex white matter architectures using traditional tensor-based diffusion-weighted MRI metrics.

    White matter microstructure mediates the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive performance in older adults · 2025 · DOI

  • There is strong interest in improving deep brain stimulation targeting by using diffusion tractography to reconstruct and target specific ALIC fiber pathways, but this methodology is susceptible to errors and lacks validation.

    A Reproducible Pipeline for Parcellation of the Anterior Limb of the Internal Capsule · 2024 · DOI

  • The precise origins and targets of the stripe-associated axons remain unknown, but their neurochemical profile suggests several candidate systems.

    Intricate mesoscale organization of the anterior commissure in the rhesus monkey, with implications for neuroimaging · 2026 · DOI

  • However, little is known about how WM properties relate to the timing of picture naming and its underlying electrophysiological activity.

    Microstructure of white matter association tracts in the temporal lobe predicts the timing of electrophysiological activity and behaviour in picture naming · 2026 · DOI

  • Additionally, factors such as the use of hearing aids and further segmentation of ROIs were not explored in this study, which could provide deeper insights into the specific functional and structural impacts.

    White Matter Microstructure Differences Between Congenital and Acquired Hearing Loss Patients Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Machine Learning · 2025 · DOI

  • However, evidence about the impact of early-life TC abnormality on brain morphology remains unclear.

    Early-onset total cholesterol abnormality is associated with gray matter atrophy and decreased microstructural integrity · 2025 · DOI

  • Replication in larger, more diverse, and longitudinal or multimodal samples is warranted.

    Positive association between emotional intelligence and white matter integrity in the cingulum and superior longitudinal fasciculus in healthy Japanese adults · 2026 · DOI

  • Although progress has been made in understanding its central mechanisms, the patterns of white matter (WM) microstructural damage in early-stage unilateral lesions remain poorly characterized.

    White Matter Microstructural Injury in Patients With Acute Single Subcortical Infarction: A Preliminary Tract‐Based Spatial Statistics With Atlas‐Based Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • It remains unclear how structural connectivity disruption (SCD) estimated from individual tractography compares with model-based estimates using normative tractograms.

    Evaluating structural connectivity disruption after stroke: individual tractography or the use of a model-based approach? · 2026 · DOI

  • However, this process remains insufficiently studied in recent small subcortical infarcts (RSSI).

    Remote cortical degeneration related to structural connectivity following recent small subcortical infarcts · 2026 · DOI

  • Although SMC is thought to reflect increasing cortical influence, its neural substrates remain poorly characterized.

    Multimodal MRI of white matter development and selective motor control in preterm infants · 2026 · DOI

  • However, the biological interactions between MDD subtypes and types of childhood trauma remain unclear.

    Differential patterns of axonal loss associated with threat-related adversity in atypical depression and non-atypical depression · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the microstructural integrity of long-range association fibers in this population remains unknown.

    Alterations of long-range association fibers in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis · 2025 · DOI

  • Myelin proton density fraction (MPDF) and myelin water fraction (MWF) measured with short-TR adiabatic inversion-recovery (STAIR) sequences are potential biomarkers of aging and neurodegeneration, but the effects of aging on MPDF/MWF remain unknown.

    Age-related changes in myelin and myelin water quantified with short-TR adiabatic inversion-recovery (STAIR) sequences · 2025 · DOI

  • An estimation of the absolute number of axons indicates that human cortical areas are sparsely connected.

    Microstructural profiles of the human superficial white matter and their associations to cortical geometry and connectivity · 2026 · DOI

  • Directly testing the effect of diabetes on development of WMHs. Examining the direct effects of diabetes and/or WMHs on tau pathology. Investigating the relative impacts of diabetes, WMHs, plasma phosphorylated tau-181, and atrophy and cognition.

    Discrete White Matter Lesions in Clusters and Harmony: Using Oblique Strategies to Study Brain Aging · 2026 · DOI

  • The study had a cross-sectional design, - Interpretation of causation is not possible due to the cross-sectional design, - The study was limited to cognitively unimpaired older…

    White matter microstructure mediates the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive performance in older adults · 2025 · DOI

  • By applying a well-established fiber clustering pipeline and a suprathreshold fiber cluster statistical method, we analyze tracts in the cerebral cortex and understudied pathways like those connecting to the cerebellum.

    Study of sex differences in the whole brain white matter using diffusion MRI tractography and suprathreshold fiber cluster statistics · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The lack of a deep learning-based method to enhance diffusion tensor parametric maps derived from reduced-direction acquisitions (“Improved diffusion tensor parametric maps in the brain from reduced-direction…”, 2026); (2) The microstructural tissue properties of cerebellar-VTA white matter pathways have not been examined in first-episode psychosis (“Microstructural Alterations of the Cerebellum–Ventral Tegmental Area Pathways…”, 2026); (3) The precise origins and targets of the stripe-associated axons remain unknown, but their neurochemical profile suggests several candidate systems (“Intricate mesoscale organization of the anterior commissure in the rhesus…”, 2026); (4) Little is known about how WM properties relate to the timing of picture naming and its underlying electrophysiological activity (“Microstructure of white matter association tracts in the temporal lobe predicts…”, 2026); (5) Replication in larger, more diverse, and longitudinal or multimodal samples is warranted (“Positive association between emotional intelligence and white matter integrity…”, 2026). 407 gap statements have been mined from Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,674 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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