Evidence for Segregated and Integrative Connectivity Patterns in the Human Basal Ganglia

Abstract

Detailed knowledge of the anatomy and connectivity pattern of cortico-basal ganglia circuits is essential to an understanding of abnormal cortical function and pathophysiology associated with a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. We aim to study the spatial extent and topography of human basal ganglia connectivity in vivo. Additionally, we explore at an anatomical level the hypothesis of coexistent segregated and integrative cortico-basal ganglia loops. We use probabilistic tractography on magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging data to segment basal ganglia and thalamus in 30 healthy subjects based on their cortical and subcortical projections. We introduce a novel method to define voxel-based connectivity profiles that allow representation of projections from a source to more than one target region. Using this method, we localize specific relay nuclei within predefined functional circuits. We find strong correlation between tractography-based basal ganglia parcellation and anatomical data from previously reported invasive tracing studies in nonhuman primates. Additionally, we show in vivo the anatomical basis of segregated loops and the extent of their overlap in prefrontal, premotor, and motor networks. Our findings in healthy humans support the notion that probabilistic diffusion tractography can be used to parcellate subcortical gray matter structures on the basis of their connectivity patterns. The coexistence of clearly segregated and also overlapping connections from cortical sites to basal ganglia subregions is a neuroanatomical correlate of both parallel and integrative networks within them. We believe that this method can be used to examine pathophysiological concepts in a number of basal gangliarelated disorders.

Neural correlates of the volitional regulation of the desire for food

“…During active downregulation of food desire, we also found enhanced hemodynamic responses in the head of the caudate nucleus, a sub-region with specific connections to the lateral PFC, 31 supporting the notion of a prefrontalstriatal circuitry that allows cognitive integration of alternatives to guide subsequent behavior. 32,33 The impact of individual differences on brain activity Given the quite heterogeneous abilities of individuals to control their calorie intake, individual differences in genoand phenotype are of special interest in the context of eating behavior.…”

“…As mentioned above, it is assumed that neurons in DS are sensitive to the integration of a reward and goaldirected behavior. Our regression analysis suggests that individuals with higher CRE show higher activation not only in the DLPFC but also in the interconnected caudate nucleus, 31 both sub-serving cognitive control over eating behavior.…”

Brain microstructural correlates of visuospatial choice reaction time in children

“…6), an apparent ventrorostral to dorsocaudal gradient of low to high t-values may be observed in the putamen. Previous studies have shown a rostrocaudal functional gradient of inputs in the neostriatum, where motor and premotor cortices mainly project to dorsal and caudal areas of the putamen (Draganski et al, 2008;Haber, 2003;Haber and Gdowski, 2004;Lehericy et al, 2004), suggesting that the putamen voxels with high t-values observed in the present study may be within the regions involved in motor control. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between choice RT performance and MD within specific neostriatal regions.…”

Striatal subdivisions that coherently interact with multiple cerebrocortical networks

“…Supporting Information Figure S4a shows group average maps of the SSCs that were most strongly connected with the PCG, MFG, OFG, or inferior parietal lobule, based on the atlas by Desikan et al (2006). Consistent with previous studies (Barnes et al, 2010; Choi et al, 2012; Di Martino et al, 2008; Draganski et al, 2008; Garcia‐Garcia et al, 2018; Janssen et al, 2015; Jaspers et al, 2017; Jung et al, 2014), the middle part of the putamen was most strongly connected with the PCG, the caudate nucleus was most strongly connected with the MFG, and the caudate nucleus extending to ventral striatum was most strongly connected with the OFG.…”

“…Previous studies of striatal functional architecture have revealed a well‐organized relationship for cerebrocortical‐striatal connectivity (Barnes et al, 2010; Choi et al, 2012; Di Martino et al, 2008; Draganski et al, 2008; Garcia‐Garcia et al, 2018; Janssen et al, 2015; Jaspers et al, 2017; Jung et al, 2014). We confirmed, as a positive control, that the larger‐scale observations could be replicated using the present data set.…”