title: Bridging Cytoarchitectonics and Connectomics in Human Cerebral Cortex.
abstract: The rich variation in cytoarchitectonics of the human cortex is well known to play an important role in the differentiation of cortical information processing, with functional multimodal areas noted to display more branched, more spinous, and an overall more complex cytoarchitecture. In parallel, connectome studies have suggested that also the macroscale wiring profile of brain areas may have an important contribution in shaping neural processes; for example, multimodal areas have been noted to display an elaborate macroscale connectivity profile. However, how these two scales of brain connectivity are related-and perhaps interact-remains poorly understood. In this communication, we combined data from the detailed mappings of early twentieth century cytoarchitectonic pioneers Von Economo and Koskinas (1925) on the microscale cellular structure of the human cortex with data on macroscale connectome wiring as derived from high-resolution diffusion imaging data from the Human Connectome Project. In a cross-scale examination, we show evidence of a significant association between cytoarchitectonic features of human cortical organization-in particular the size of layer 3 neurons-and whole-brain corticocortical connectivity. Our findings suggest that aspects of microscale cytoarchitectonics and macroscale connectomics are related.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One of the most widely known and perhaps most fundamental properties of the human cortex is its rich variation in cytoarchitectonics. At the same time, neuroimaging studies have also revealed cortical areas to vary in their level of macroscale connectivity. Here, we provide evidence that aspects of local cytoarchitecture are associated with aspects of global macroscale connectivity, providing insight into the question of how the scales of micro-organization and macro-organization of the human cortex are related.
authors.affiliation: Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands, M.P.vandenheuvel@umcutrecht.nl.
authors.forename: Martijn P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van den Heuvel
authors.affiliation: Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lianne H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Scholtens
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, Department of Psychiatry and Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, and.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feldman Barrett
authors.affiliation: Department of Computational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Claus C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hilgetag
authors.affiliation: Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Reus
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D063132:Connectome / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: MRI; connectivity; connectomics; cytoarchitectonics; diffusion MRI; pyramidal neuron