title: Symmetrical Location Characteristics of Corticospinal Tract Associated With Hand Movement in the Human Brain: A Probabilistic Diffusion Tensor Tractography.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the symmetrical characteristics of corticospinal tract (CST) related with hand movement in bilateral hemispheres using probabilistic fiber tracking method. Seventeen subjects were participated in this study. Fiber tracking was performed with 2 regions of interest, hand activated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results and pontomedullary junction in each cerebral hemisphere. Each subject's extracted fiber tract was normalized with a brain template. To measure the symmetrical distributions of the CST related with hand movement, the laterality and anteriority indices were defined in upper corona radiata (CR), lower CR, and posterior limb of internal capsule. The measured laterality and anteriority indices between the hemispheres in each different brain location showed no significant differences with P < 0.05. There were significant differences in the measured indices among 3 different brain locations in each cerebral hemisphere with P < 0.001. Our results clearly showed that the hand CST had symmetric structures in bilateral hemispheres. The probabilistic fiber tracking with fMRI approach demonstrated that the hand CST can be successfully extracted regardless of crossing fiber problem. Our analytical approaches and results seem to be helpful for providing the database of CST somatotopy to neurologists and clinical researches.
authors.affiliation: From the Division of MR Research, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (D-HL, D-WL), Baltimore, MD and Department of Radiological Science, College of Health Science (B-SH), Yonsei University, Wonju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Do-Wan
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Bong-Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D054022:Cerebrum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology