The Complex Structure of the Anterior White Commissure of the Human Brain: Fiber Dissection and Tractography Study

OBJECT The aim of this study was to examine the arcuate (AF) and superior longitudinal fasciculi (SLF), which together form the dorsal language stream, using fiber dissection and diffusion imaging techniques in the human brain. METHODS Twenty-five formalin-fixed brains (50 hemispheres) and 3 adult cadaveric heads, prepared according to the Klingler method, were examined by the fiber dissection technique. The authors’ findings were supported with MR tractography provided by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium. The frequencies of gyral distributions were calculated in segments of the AF and SLF in the cadaveric specimens. RESULTS The AF has ventral and dorsal segments, and the SLF has 3 segments: SLF I (dorsal pathway), II (middle pathway), and III (ventral pathway). The AF ventral segment connects the middle (88%; all percentages represent the area of the named structure that is connected to the tract) and posterior (100%) parts of the superior temporal gyri and the middle part (92%) of the middle temporal gyrus to the posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus (96% in pars opercularis, 40% in pars triangularis) and the ventral premotor cortex (84%) by passing deep to the lower part of the supramarginal gyrus (100%). The AF dorsal segment connects the posterior part of the middle (100%) and inferior temporal gyri (76%) to the posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus (96% in pars opercularis), ventral premotor cortex (72%), and posterior part of the middle frontal gyrus (56%) by passing deep to the lower part of the angular gyrus (100%). CONCLUSIONS This study depicts the distinct subdivision of the AF and SLF, based on cadaveric fiber dissection and diffusion imaging techniques, to clarify the complicated language processing pathways.

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Tracing short connections of the temporo-parieto-occipital region in the human brain using diffusion spectrum imaging and fiber dissection

Brain Research ◽

10.1016/j.brainres.2016.05.046 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1646 ◽

pp. 152-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Yupeng Wu ◽

Dandan Sun ◽

Yong Wang ◽

Yunjie Wang ◽

Yibao Wang

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Occipital Region ◽

Diffusion Spectrum Imaging ◽

Fiber Dissection ◽

Spectrum Imaging

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Fiber dissection and 3-tesla diffusion tensor tractography of the superior cerebellar peduncle in the human brain: emphasize on the cerebello-hypthalamic fibers

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-019-01985-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 225 (1) ◽

pp. 121-128

Author(s):

Safiye Çavdar ◽

Ayşegül Esen Aydın ◽

Oktay Algin ◽

Evren Aydoğmuş

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Diffusion Tensor Tractography ◽

3 Tesla ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Fiber Dissection ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle

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The Accumbofrontal Fasciculus in the Human Brain: A Microsurgical Anatomical Study

Neurosurgery ◽

10.1227/neu.0b013e3182098e48 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (4) ◽

pp. 1102-1111 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Philippe Rigoard ◽

Kévin Buffenoir ◽

Nemhat Jaafari ◽

Jean P. Giot ◽

Jean L. Houeto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Anatomical Study ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Neural Connections ◽

3 Dimensional ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Orbital Gyrus ◽

Fiber Dissection ◽

Dissection Technique

Abstract BACKGROUND: The fiber-dissection technique provides unique 3-dimensional anatomic knowledge of the white matter. OBJECTIVE: To better identify the frontostriatal pathways in the human brain, we used a fiber-dissection technique to reconstruct neural connections between the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), which is the most ventral extent of the striatum. METHODS: Thirty previously frozen, formalin-fixed human brains were dissected under the operating microscope using a modified fiber-dissection technique, primarily reported by Klingler. RESULTS: Our serial dissections of 30 human brain specimens clearly demonstrated that projection fibers form a connection between the NAcc and the frontal lobe. We evidenced this newly described subcortical tract as an accumbofrontal fasciculus. This focal projection was concentrated at the level of the ventromedial part of the NAcc and characterized by an elective and specific projection from the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex, particularly the gyrus rectus and the medial orbital gyrus situated between the H-shaped and the medial orbital sulcus. CONCLUSION: The accumbofrontal fasciculus is an elective and specific projection from the orbitoprefrontal cortex. This fasciculus is part of a corticostriatothalamocortical loop and a putative target for deep-brain stimulation in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depression. The analysis of in vivo diffusion tractography, used today as a standard in the investigation of many brain disorders, could potentially take advantage of complementary anatomic correlations and functional extrapolations, as described in this study.

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