A 28-year-old woman presents with acute vision loss in the left eye and pain on eye movement (optic neuritis). MRI brain with contrast is performed to evaluate for demyelinating disease. The scan reveals multiple T2-hyperintense lesions perpendicular to the lateral ventricles, oriented along perivenular spaces, as marked **A** in the diagram. Which of the following best describes the significance of these lesions in the context of the McDonald Criteria for Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis?