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Tracing superior longitudinal fasciculus connectivity in the human brain using high resolution diffusion tensor tractography

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Abstract

The major language pathways such as superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) pathways have been outlined by experimental and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies. The SLF I and some of the superior parietal lobule connections of the SLF pathways have not been depicted by prior DTI studies due to the lack of imaging sensitivity and adequate spatial resolution. In the current study, the trajectory of the SLF fibers has been delineated on five healthy human subjects using diffusion tensor tractography on a 3.0-T scanner at high spatial resolution. We also demonstrate for the first time the trajectory and connectivity of the SLF fibers in relation to other language pathways as well as the superior parietal lobule connections of the language circuit using high spatial resolution DTI in the healthy adult human brain.

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Abbreviations

AF:

Arcuate fasciculus

AG:

Angular gyrus

BA:

Brodmann area

Cing:

Cingulum

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

DTT:

Diffusion tensor tractography

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

EmC:

Extreme capsule

FA:

Fractional anisotropy

FACT:

Fiber assignment by continuous tracking

IFOF:

Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus

ILF:

Inferior longitudinal fasciculus

IPL:

Inferior parietal lobule

MD:

Mean diffusivity

MdLF:

Middle longitudinal fasciculus

ROI:

Region of interest

SLF:

Superior longitudinal fasciculus

SLF TP:

Temporoparietal portion of superior longitudinal fasciculus

SMG:

Supramarginal gyrus

SPL:

Superior parietal lobule

UF:

Uncinate fasciculus

WM:

White matter

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Acknowledgments

This work is funded by the American National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NIH-NINDS: R01-NS052505-04) and the Dunn Research Foundation. The purchase of the 3.0-T MRI clinical scanner was partially funded by NIH grant S10 RR19186 awarded to Dr. Ponnada A. Narayana. We wish to thank Vipul Kumar Patel for helping in data acquisition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Cooper University Hospital, UMDNJ, Camden, NJ, USA

    Arash Kamali & Joshua Brody

  2. Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Adam E. Flanders

  3. Department of Neuroradiology, Texas Childrens Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Jill V. Hunter

  4. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Health Science Center Houston-Medical School, 6431 Fannin Street, MSB 2.100, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Khader M. Hasan

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  1. Arash Kamali
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  2. Adam E. Flanders
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  4. Jill V. Hunter
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  5. Khader M. Hasan
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Correspondence to Khader M. Hasan.

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Kamali, A., Flanders, A.E., Brody, J. et al. Tracing superior longitudinal fasciculus connectivity in the human brain using high resolution diffusion tensor tractography. Brain Struct Funct 219, 269–281 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-012-0498-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-012-0498-y

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