title: Cerebral white matter--historical evolution of facts and notions concerning the organization of the fiber pathways of the brain.
abstract: Gross and microscopic studies by early investigators led the cerebral white matter from being regarded as an amorphous mass to an intricately organized system of fasciculi that facilitate the highest expression of cerebral activity. Here we pay homage to the anatomists whose observations resulted in the evolution of ideas about the cerebral white matter. We also draw attention to limitations of the earlier methodologies and to some of the conflicts and controversies that have characterized this field and that persist in the current literature. We conclude with brief reference to the principles of organization of the fiber pathways derived from our studies in the monkey using the autoradiographic tract tracing technique, another step in the ongoing investigations of the cerebral white matter. This historical review has contemporary relevance because the fiber pathways of the brain are crucial components of the distributed neural circuits that subserve nervous system function; the clinical manifestations of white matter damage are recognized with greater frequency and clarity; and magnetic resonance imaging tractography has made it possible to view these fiber bundles within the living human brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Cognitive/Behavioral Neurology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Schmahmann
authors.forename: Deepak N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Pandya
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004210:Dissection; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*