The Frontal Aslant Tract: A Systematic Review for Neurosurgical Applications

Corte, Emanuele La; Eldahaby, Daniela; Greco, Elena; Aquino, Domenico; Bertolini, Giacomo; Levi, Vincenzo; Ottenhausen, Malte; Demichelis, Greta; Romito, Luigi; Acerbi, Francesco; Broggi, Morgan; Schiariti, Marco; Ferroli, Paolo; Bruzzone, Maria Grazia; Serrao, Graziano

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.641586

Cited by 65 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 132 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The FAT interconnects the pars opercularis and pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus and the anterior insula with the supplementary motor area (SMA) and pre-SMA ( Chernoff et al, 2018 ; La Corte et al, 2021 ), and it was first identified in 2007 by Aron et al (2007) and then described and named in the studies of Catani et al (2012) and Thiebaut de Schotten et al (2012) . In addition, it was also identified in monkey ( Thiebaut de Schotten et al, 2012 ) and human postmortem dissection studies ( Lawes et al, 2008 ).…”

Section: Anatomical Characteristics Of Common Fiber Tractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebral White Matter Myelination and Relations to Age, Gender, and Cognition: A Selective Review

Buyanova

Arsalidou

2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

White matter makes up about fifty percent of the human brain. Maturation of white matter accompanies biological development and undergoes the most dramatic changes during childhood and adolescence. Despite the advances in neuroimaging techniques, controversy concerning spatial, and temporal patterns of myelination, as well as the degree to which the microstructural characteristics of white matter can vary in a healthy brain as a function of age, gender and cognitive abilities still exists. In a selective review we describe methods of assessing myelination and evaluate effects of age and gender in nine major fiber tracts, highlighting their role in higher-order cognitive functions. Our findings suggests that myelination indices vary by age, fiber tract, and hemisphere. Effects of gender were also identified, although some attribute differences to methodological factors or social and learning opportunities. Findings point to further directions of research that will improve our understanding of the complex myelination-behavior relation across development that may have implications for educational and clinical practice.

show abstract

Section: Anatomical Characteristics Of Common Fiber Tractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebral White Matter Myelination and Relations to Age, Gender, and Cognition: A Selective Review

Buyanova

Arsalidou

2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Then, the coupling between the SMA and LPFC may be related to patterns of pre-learned behavior performed in familiar environments 88 in the case of experts in the physical simulator. Here, it is postulated that the interaction between the preSMA/SMA and the PFC/IFG is underpinned by the extended frontal aslant tract (exFAT) 95 of the short frontal lobe connections 96 that has a role in executive function/ability 97 . The exFAT may be left lateralized 95 that aligns well with left lateralized activation for more complex bimanual FLS tasks, e.g., FLS suturing with intracorporal knot tying 94 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efference information flow during skill acquisition mediate its interaction with medical simulation technology

Kamat

Makled

Norfleet

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite substantial progress towards establishing virtual reality (VR) simulators as a replacement for physical ones for skill training, its effect on the brain network during skill acquisition has not been well addressed. In this study, we employed portable optical neuroimaging technology and Granger causality approach to uncover the impact of the two medical simulation technologies on the directed functional brain network of the subjects with two different skill levels. The mobile brain-behavior relantionship was evaluated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while right-handed subjects performed well-established fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) pattern cutting task. A multiple regression path analysis found that the cognitive-action information flow from the right prefrontal cortex to the supplementary motor area statistically significantly predicted the FLS task performance. Here, the skill level (expert vs novice) affected the cognitive-action information flow from the right prefrontal cortex and the efference copy information flow from the left primary motor cortex via supplementary motor area as hub to the cognitiveperception at the left prefrontal cortex, i.e., the action-preception link. The simulation technology (physical vs VR simulator) affected solely the cognitive-action information flow from the right prefrontal cortex to the left primary motor cortex; however, the interaction between the medical simulation technology) and the skill level affected the efference information flow from the left primary motor cortex to the right prefrontal cortex and from the supplementary motor area to the left prefrontal cortex. These discriminative findings are crucial since our VR simulator had face and construct validity. Therefore, our study highlighted the importance of efference information flow within the framework of the perception-action cycle when comparing medical simulation technology for visuomotor skill acquisition.

show abstract

“…Previous localizationist views have suggested that this deficit occurs primarily due to surgical insult in the posteromedial bank of the superior frontal gyrus, yet other patients too demonstrate varying degrees of mutism and hemiplegia when operating outside this canonical SMA (14). Fortunately, further insight on the major connectivity of the medial frontal lobe has revealed that the FAT is the principle pathway linking the SMA to premotor areas and area 44 (Broca's area) and also links hubs of the salience network, supporting a possible role of the FAT in initiating motor or speech activity through its interconnections throughout the initiation axis (87,88). We have recently shown that by applying this knowledge in patients with gliomas in the SMA, intraoperative identification and subsequent preservation of the FAT can reduce SMA syndrome compared to just "avoiding the posterior bank of the SFG" (Figure 2).…”

Section: Using Brain Network Maps In Surgerymentioning

confidence: 98%

Reducing the Cognitive Footprint of Brain Tumor Surgery

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The surgical management of brain tumors is based on the principle that the extent of resection improves patient outcomes. Traditionally, neurosurgeons have considered that lesions in “non-eloquent” cerebrum can be more aggressively surgically managed compared to lesions in “eloquent” regions with more known functional relevance. Furthermore, advancements in multimodal imaging technologies have improved our ability to extend the rate of resection while minimizing the risk of inducing new neurologic deficits, together referred to as the “onco-functional balance.” However, despite the common utilization of invasive techniques such as cortical mapping to identify eloquent tissue responsible for language and motor functions, glioma patients continue to present post-operatively with poor cognitive morbidity in higher-order functions. Such observations are likely related to the difficulty in interpreting the highly-dimensional information these technologies present to us regarding cognition in addition to our classically poor understanding of the functional and structural neuroanatomy underlying complex higher-order cognitive functions. Furthermore, reduction of the brain into isolated cortical regions without consideration of the complex, interacting brain networks which these regions function within to subserve higher-order cognition inherently prevents our successful navigation of true eloquent and non-eloquent cerebrum. Fortunately, recent large-scale movements in the neuroscience community, such as the Human Connectome Project (HCP), have provided updated neural data detailing the many intricate macroscopic connections between cortical regions which integrate and process the information underlying complex human behavior within a brain “connectome.” Connectomic data can provide us better maps on how to understand convoluted cortical and subcortical relationships between tumor and human cerebrum such that neurosurgeons can begin to make more informed decisions during surgery to maximize the onco-functional balance. However, connectome-based neurosurgery and related applications for neurorehabilitation are relatively nascent and require further work moving forward to optimize our ability to add highly valuable connectomic data to our surgical armamentarium. In this manuscript, we review four concepts with detailed examples which will help us better understand post-operative cognitive outcomes and provide a guide for how to utilize connectomics to reduce cognitive morbidity following cerebral surgery.

show abstract

The Frontal Aslant Tract: A Systematic Review for Neurosurgical Applications

Cited by 65 publications

References 132 publications

Cerebral White Matter Myelination and Relations to Age, Gender, and Cognition: A Selective Review

Cerebral White Matter Myelination and Relations to Age, Gender, and Cognition: A Selective Review

Efference information flow during skill acquisition mediate its interaction with medical simulation technology

Reducing the Cognitive Footprint of Brain Tumor Surgery

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About