title: A Direct Cortico-Nigral Pathway as Revealed by Constrained Spherical Deconvolution Tractography in Humans.
abstract: Substantia nigra is an important neuronal structure, located in the ventral midbrain, that exerts a regulatory function within the basal ganglia circuitry through the nigro-striatal pathway. Although its subcortical connections are relatively well-known in human brain, little is known about its cortical connections. The existence of a direct cortico-nigral pathway has been demonstrated in rodents and primates but only hypothesized in humans. In this study, we aimed at evaluating cortical connections of substantia nigra in vivo in human brain by using probabilistic constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD) tractography on magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging data. We found that substantia nigra is connected with cerebral cortex as a whole, with the most representative connections involving prefrontal cortex, precentral and postcentral gyri and superior parietal lobule. These results may be relevant for the comprehension of the pathophysiology of several neurological disorders involving substantia nigra, such as parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and pathological addictions.
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Cacciola
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of MessinaMessina, Italy; IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino Pulejo"Messina, Italy.
authors: Demetrio
authors: D
authors: Milardi
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Giuseppe P
authors: GP
authors: Anastasi
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Gianpaolo A
authors: GA
authors: Basile
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Pietro
authors: P
authors: Ciolli
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Mariangela
authors: M
authors: Irrera
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Giuseppina
authors: G
authors: Cutroneo
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Daniele
authors: D
authors: Bruschetta
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Giuseppina
authors: G
authors: Rizzo
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina Messina, Italy.
authors: Stefania
authors: S
authors: Mondello
authors: IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino Pulejo" Messina, Italy.
authors: Placido
authors: P
authors: Bramanti
authors: Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, University of MessinaMessina, Italy; IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino Pulejo"Messina, Italy.
authors: Angelo
authors: A
authors: Quartarone
keywords: CSD; basal ganglia; connectivity; cortex; parkinson disease; substantia nigra; tractography