A primer of neuroimaging analysis in neurorehabilitation outcome research

Although most neurological patients that enter a rehabilitation treatment program have had either a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, the utilization of neuroimaging in rehabilitation has been limited. However, a number of new MRI methods for image analysis hold great promise to better inform the neurorehabilitation clinician. The current review provides a foundation in neuroimaging fundamentals for neurorehabilitation specialists and examines the progress in using such techniques as quantitative MRI analyses, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional MRI to better understand the neurologically impaired patient.