Structural and Functional Analyses of Human Cerebral Cortex Using a Surface-Based Atlas

Abstract

We have analyzed the geometry, geography, and functional organization of human cerebral cortex using surface reconstructions and cortical flat maps of the left and right hemispheres generated from a digital atlas (the Visible Man). The total surface area of the reconstructed Visible Man neocortex is 1570 cm 2 (both hemispheres), ϳ70% of which is buried in sulci. By linking the Visible Man cerebrum to the Talairach stereotaxic coordinate space, the locations of activation foci reported in neuroimaging studies can be readily visualized in relation to the cortical surface. The associated spatial uncertainty was empirically shown to have a radius in three dimensions of ϳ10 mm. Application of this approach to studies of visual cortex reveals the overall patterns of activation associated with different aspects of visual function and the relationship of these patterns to topographically organized visual areas. Our analysis supports a distinction between an anterior region in ventral occipitotemporal cortex that is selectively involved in form processing and a more posterior region (in or near areas VP and V4v) involved in both form and color processing. Foci associated with motion processing are mainly concentrated in a region along the occipito-temporal junction, the ventral portion of which overlaps with foci also implicated in form processing. Comparisons between flat maps of human and macaque monkey cerebral cortex indicate significant differences as well as many similarities in the relative sizes and positions of cortical regions known or suspected to be homologous in the two species.

Automatic volumetric segmentation of human visual retinotopic cortex

“…Surface-based analysis, display, and 2-D coordinate systems have been proposed (Drury et al, 1996;Fischl et al, 1999a,b;Van Essen et al, 1998Van Essen and Drury, 1997). Indeed cortical surfaces are now widely used for display purposes, including this study.…”

Validity of large-deformation high dimensional brain mapping of the basal ganglia in adults with Tourette syndrome

“…They localize volume reductions to specific regions of the structure and therefore may give us additional insights into the nature of their involvement in TS and provide direction to future studies. Because neuroanatomical shapes may be influenced by patterns of neuroanatomical connections (Van Essen, 1997), metrics related to shape may be particularly sensitive to subtle disturbances in neuronal organization during development that underlie neuropsychiatric disorders such as TS.…”

Volumetric vs. surface-based alignment for localization of auditory cortex activation

“…Several studies have shown that the 3D distance between anatomical landmarks in different brains after Talairach normalization can be over 10mm (Steinmetz et al, 1990;Thompson and Toga, 1996;Van Essen and Drury, 1997). Thus, precise localization of functional areas with respect to gyral and sulcal landmarks is not possible.…”