Influence of the extracellular matrix on water mobility in subcortical gray matter.

Investigations with very strong gradients did not reveal a detectable effect on water diffusion or <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msub><mml:mi>T</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub> </mml:math> after hyaluronan removal, indicating that the brain ECM content is too low to produce a detectable effect. The subtle alteration of T1 upon hyaluronidase treatment might reflect a modulation of intercompartmental water exchange properties.