Mapping of functional areas in the human cortex based on connectivity through association fibers.
In the human brain, different regions of the cortex communicate via white matter tracts. Investigation of this connectivity is essential for understanding brain function. It has been shown that trajectories of white matter fiber bundles can be estimated based on orientational information that is obtained from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). By extrapolating this information, cortical regions associated with a specific white matter tract can be estimated. In this study, we created population-averaged cortical maps of brain connectivity for 4 major association fiber tracts, the corticospinal tract (CST), and commissural fibers. It is shown that these 4 association fibers interconnect all 4 lobes of the hemispheres. Cortical regions that were assigned based on association with the CST and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) agreed with locations of their known (CST: motor) or putative (SLF: language) functions. The proposed approach can potentially be used for quantitative assessment of the effect of white matter abnormalities on associated cortical regions.
Hua
Kegang
K
Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Oishi
Kenichi
K
Zhang
Jiangyang
J
Wakana
Setsu
S
Yoshioka
Takashi
T
Zhang
Weihong
W
Akhter
Kazi Dilruba
KD
Li
Xin
X
Huang
Hao
H
Jiang
Hangyi
H
van Zijl
Peter
P
Mori
Susumu
S
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000502:physiology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology