Advances in diffusion MRI acquisition and processing in the Human Connectome Project

Sotiropoulos, Stamatios N.; Jbabdi, Saâd; Xu, Junqian; Andersson, Jesper; Moeller, Steen; Auerbach, Edward J.; Glasser, Matthew F.; Hernández, Mariano Leal; Sapiro, Guillermo; Jenkinson, Mark; Feinberg, David; Yacoub, Essa; Lenglet, Christophe; Essen, David C. Van; Uğurbil, Kâmil; Behrens, Timothy E.J.

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.057

Cited by 838 publications

(848 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…In fact, a comparison of the Youden J values indicates that of the four tractography methods, the B&S-OT provides the optimal tradeoff between specificity and sensitivity across the two ROIs. Finally, although HARDI models generally are thought to have higher sensitivity than DTI (35), lower sensitivity is observed in the HARDI methods (Q-ball and B&S-ST in ROI-PCG and B&S-ST in ROI-V4v).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Granted, the use of animal models is somewhat limited because of interspecies differences in neuroanatomy (45,46). However, given the similarities in the connectivity profile between the monkey and human brain (47,48), macaque models will continue to serve as an indispensable tool for explicating general organizational principles of brain networks such as characterization of the directional transitions that axons make when entering or exiting gray matter (35,49,50). Insights from such studies may help improve the accuracy of tractography techniques.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Anatomical accuracy of brain connections derived from diffusion MRI tractography is inherently limited

Thomas

İrfanoğlu

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

681

611

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Tractography based on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) is widely used for mapping the structural connections of the human brain. Its accuracy is known to be limited by technical factors affecting in vivo data acquisition, such as noise, artifacts, and data undersampling resulting from scan time constraints. It generally is assumed that improvements in data quality and implementation of sophisticated tractography methods will lead to increasingly accurate maps of human anatomical connections. However, assessing the anatomical accuracy of DWI tractography is difficult because of the lack of independent knowledge of the true anatomical connections in humans. Here we investigate the future prospects of DWI-based connectional imaging by applying advanced tractography methods to an ex vivo DWI dataset of the macaque brain. The results of different tractography methods were compared with maps of known axonal projections from previous tracer studies in the macaque. Despite the exceptional quality of the DWI data, none of the methods demonstrated high anatomical accuracy. The methods that showed the highest sensitivity showed the lowest specificity, and vice versa. Additionally, anatomical accuracy was highly dependent upon parameters of the tractography algorithm, with different optimal values for mapping different pathways. These results suggest that there is an inherent limitation in determining long-range anatomical projections based on voxelaveraged estimates of local fiber orientation obtained from DWI data that is unlikely to be overcome by improvements in data acquisition and analysis alone.T he creation of a comprehensive map of the connectional neuroanatomy of the human brain would be a fundamental achievement in neuroscience. However, despite the numerous efforts to date (for a historical review, see ref. 1), creating this map remains a challenge. A major limitation is that the current goldstandard technique for mapping structural connections, which requires the injection of axonal tracers, cannot be used in humans. The introduction of diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) (2-4) and the subsequent advent of diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) (5) opened the possibility of exploring the structural properties of white matter in the living human brain (6). Local DWI measures are used clinically for the early detection of stroke and for the characterization of neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and brain gliomas, among others (7). In addition, tractography approaches (8-12) that can infer structural brain connectivity based on brain-wide local DWI measurement have been developed (for reviews, see refs. 13 and 14). The success of DWI tractography as a method for studying fiber trajectories has led to a systematic characterization of large white-matter pathways of the living human brain (e.g., ref. 15), and now it is used routinely to provide a structural explanation for aspects of human brain function (16).A major limitation of DWI tractography is that its characterization of axonal pathways is based on indirec...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomical accuracy of brain connections derived from diffusion MRI tractography is inherently limited

Thomas

İrfanoğlu

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

681

611

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This speed-up benefits from the simultaneous multi-band stimulation (SMS) imaging (Sotiropoulos et al, 2013) used in the Human Connectome Project, but with significant improvements. The design of the experiment is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and functional neuroplasticity in human learning of spatial routes

Keller

Just

2016

NeuroImage

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“…These features collectively allow shorter and stronger gradient pulses for diffusion preparation, which are beneficial in a number of ways, including higher SNR/spatial resolution/angular contrast and more accurate q-space measurements that technically require infinitely short gradients. Human MR systems have been recently developed with ultra-high G max , such as the Connectom Skyras with 100 and 300 mT/m 95,113 , allowing very high data quality 114,115 . Such hardware capabilities have been very beneficial in mapping microstructure in animals using small-bore systems, and the potential to translate these advantages into in human studies has recently been demonstrated 116,117 .…”

Section: Structural Imaging: Now and In The Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Studying neuroanatomy using MRI

et al. 2017

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The study of neuroanatomy using imaging enables key insights into how our brains function, are shaped by genes and environment, and change with development, aging, and disease. Developments in MRI acquisition, image processing, and data modelling have been key to these advances. However, MRI provides an indirect measurement of the biological signals we aim to investigate. Thus, artifacts and key questions of correct interpretation can confound the readouts provided by anatomical MRI. In this review we provide an overview of the methods for measuring macro-and mesoscopic structure and inferring microstructural properties; we also describe key artefacts and confounds that can lead to incorrect conclusions. Ultimately, we believe that, though methods need to improve and caution is required in its interpretation, structural MRI continues to have great promise in furthering our understanding of how the brain works.

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Advances in diffusion MRI acquisition and processing in the Human Connectome Project

Cited by 838 publications

References 76 publications

Anatomical accuracy of brain connections derived from diffusion MRI tractography is inherently limited

Anatomical accuracy of brain connections derived from diffusion MRI tractography is inherently limited

Structural and functional neuroplasticity in human learning of spatial routes

Studying neuroanatomy using MRI

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