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Measuring macroscopic brain connections in vivo

Nature Neuroscience volume 18, pages 1546–1555 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

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.

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Figure 1: Examples of complex white-matter organization in monkey brains.
Figure 2: Diffusion MRI and tractography.
Figure 3: Textbook and estimated cortico-cerebellar connections using functional and diffusion MRI.
Figure 4: Agreement between functional and structural connectivity in measuring connections in human and macaques.
Figure 5: Testing generic organization principles using tractography.
Figure 6: Finding homolog areas across species.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/L009013/1), the James S McDonnell Foundation (JSMF220020372), the Wellcome Trust (WT104765MA), the UK EPSRC EP/L023067/1), the US National Institutes of Health Blueprint for Neuroscience (1U54MH091657-01), the US National Institutes of Health (R01 MH-60974) and the National Institute of Mental Health (P50 MH106435).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Saad Jbabdi, Stamatios N Sotiropoulos & Timothy E Behrens

  2. Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, USA

    Suzanne N Haber

  3. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

    David C Van Essen

  4. Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK

    Timothy E Behrens

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  1. Saad Jbabdi
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Correspondence to Saad Jbabdi.

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Jbabdi, S., Sotiropoulos, S., Haber, S. et al. Measuring macroscopic brain connections in vivo. Nat Neurosci 18, 1546–1555 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4134

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