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Analysis of the subcomponents and cortical terminations of the perisylvian superior longitudinal fasciculus: a fiber dissection and DTI tractography study

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Abstract

The anatomy of the perisylvian component of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) has recently been reviewed by numerous diffusion tensor imaging tractography (DTI) studies. However, little is known about the exact cortical terminations of this tract. The aim of the present work is to isolate the different subcomponents of this tract with fiber dissection and DTI tractography, and to identify the exact cortical connections. Twelve postmortem human hemispheres (6 right and 6 left) were dissected using the cortex-sparing fiber dissection. In addition, three healthy brains were analyzed using DTI-based tractography software. The different components of the perisylvian SLF were isolated and the fibers were followed until the cortical terminations. Three segments of the perisylvian SLF were identified: (1) anterior segment, connecting the supramarginal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus with the precentral gyrus, (2) posterior segment, connecting the posterior portion of the middle temporal gyrus with the angular gyrus, and (3) long segment of the arcuate fasciculus that connects the middle and inferior temporal gyri with the precentral gyrus and posterior portion of the inferior and middle frontal gyri. In the present study, three different components of the perisylvian SLF were identified. For the first time, our dissections revealed that each component was connected to a specific cortical area within the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. By accurately depicting not only the trajectory but also cortical connections of this bundle, it is possible to develop new insights into the putative functional role of this tract.

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Abbreviations

AF:

Arcuate fasciculus

AG:

Angular gyrus

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

IES:

Intraoperative electrical stimulation

IFG:

Inferior frontal gyrus

ITG:

Inferior temporal gyrus

MFG:

Middle frontal gyrus

PCG:

Precentral gyrus

SF:

Sylvian fissure

SLF:

Superior longitudinal fasciculus

SMG:

Supramarginal gyrus

SPL:

Superior parietal lobe

STG:

Superior temporal gyrus

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Acknowledgments

Juan Martino received specific funding from the 11/18 API Grant entitled “Estudio de la conectividad conectividad cerebral mediante disección de fibras estructural”, “Fundación Marqués de Valdecilla”, IFIMAV, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, 8 October 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla and Instituto de Formación e Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (IFIMAV), Av de Valdecilla s/n, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain

    Juan Martino

  2. Department of Neurological Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Philip C. De Witt Hamer

  3. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA

    Mitchel S. Berger, Michael T. Lawton & Christine M. Arnold

  4. Department of Radiology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla and Instituto de Formación e Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (IFIMAV), Av de Valdecilla s/n, Santander, Cantabria, Spain

    Enrique Marco de Lucas

  5. Department of Neurological Surgery, Hôpital Gui de Chauliac, CHU Montpellier, 80 Av Augustin Fliche, 34295, Montpellier, France

    Hugues Duffau

  6. INSERM U1051, Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier, Hôpital Saint Eloi, CHU Montpellier, 80 Av Augustin Fliche, 34295, Montpellier, France

    Hugues Duffau

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  1. Juan Martino
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Martino, J., De Witt Hamer, P.C., Berger, M.S. et al. Analysis of the subcomponents and cortical terminations of the perisylvian superior longitudinal fasciculus: a fiber dissection and DTI tractography study. Brain Struct Funct 218, 105–121 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-012-0386-5

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