Scientists from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have developed a novel diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) experimental and modeling framework to measure new and useful microanatomical features of white matter (and gray matter), which are closely related to the function of the central nervous system (CNS) or peripheral nervous system (PNS). This invention is available for licensing or co-development partners.