Measuring macroscopic brain connections in vivo.
Decades of detailed anatomical tracer studies in non-human animals point to a rich and complex organization of long-range white matter connections in the brain. State-of-the art in vivo imaging techniques are striving to achieve a similar level of detail in humans, but multiple technical factors can limit their sensitivity and fidelity. In this review, we mostly focus on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. We highlight some of the key challenges in analyzing and interpreting in vivo connectomics data, particularly in relation to what is known from classical neuroanatomy in laboratory animals. We further illustrate that, despite the challenges, in vivo imaging methods can be very powerful and provide information on connections that is not available by any other means.
Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Saad
S
Jbabdi
Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Stamatios N
SN
Sotiropoulos
Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, USA.
Suzanne N
SN
Haber
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
David C
DC
Van Essen
Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.|Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK.
Timothy E
TE
Behrens
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009445:Neuroanatomy / Q000379:methods