Phylogenetic reduction of the magnocellular red nucleus in primates and inter-subject variability in humans.

Introduction: The red nucleus is part of the motor system controlling limb movements. While this seems to be a function common in many vertebrates, its organization and circuitry have undergone massive changes during evolution. In primates, it is sub-divided into the magnocellular and parvocellular parts that give rise to rubrospinal and rubro-olivary connection, respectively.

New organizational principles and 3D cytoarchitectonic maps of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the human brain.

Areas of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are part of the frontoparietal control, default mode, salience, and ventral attention networks. The DLPFC is involved in executive functions, like working memory, value encoding, attention, decision-making, and behavioral control. This functional heterogeneity is not reflected in existing neuroanatomical maps.

A framework to improve the alignment of individual cytoarchitectonic maps of the Julich-Brain atlas using cortical folding landmarks.

The segregation of the cortical mantle into cytoarchitectonic areas provides a structural basis for the specialization of different brain regions. In vivo neuroimaging experiments can be linked to this postmortem cytoarchitectonic parcellation via Julich-Brain. This atlas embeds probabilistic maps that account for inter-individual variability in the localization of cytoarchitectonic areas in the reference spaces targeted by spatial normalization.

Cytoarchitectonic mapping of the human frontal operculum-New correlates for a variety of brain functions.

The human frontal operculum (FOp) is a brain region that covers parts of the ventral frontal cortex next to the insula. Functional imaging studies showed activations in this region in tasks related to language, somatosensory, and cognitive functions. While the precise cytoarchitectonic areas that correlate to these processes have not yet been revealed, earlier receptorarchitectonic analysis resulted in a detailed parcellation of the FOp.

Cytoarchitecture, intersubject variability, and 3D mapping of four new areas of the human anterior prefrontal cortex.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a key role in cognitive control and executive functions, including working memory, attention, value encoding, decision making, monitoring, and controlling behavioral strategies. However, the relationships between this variety of functions and the underlying cortical areas, which specifically contribute to these functions, are not yet well-understood. Existing microstructural maps differ in the number, localization, and extent of areas of the DLPFC.

Cytoarchitecture, probability maps and segregation of the human insula.

The human insular cortex supports multifunctional integration including interoceptive, sensorimotor, cognitive and social-emotional processing. Different concepts of the underlying microstructure have been proposed over more than a century. However, a 3D map of the cytoarchitectonic segregation of the insula in standard reference space, that could be directly linked to neuroimaging experiments addressing different cognitive tasks, is not yet available.

The inferior frontal sulcus: Cortical segregation, molecular architecture and function.

The inferior frontal sulcus is conceptualized as the landmark delineating ventro-from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Functional imaging studies report activations within the sulcus during tasks addressing cognitive control and verbal working memory, while their microstructural correlates are not well defined. Existing microstructural maps, e.

Cytoarchitectonic Maps of the Human Metathalamus in 3D Space.

The human metathalamus plays an important role in processing visual and auditory information. Understanding its layers and subdivisions is important to gain insights in its function as a subcortical relay station and involvement in various pathologies. Yet, detailed histological references of the microanatomy in 3D space are still missing.

Cytoarchitectonic parcellation and functional characterization of four new areas in the caudal parahippocampal cortex.

Brain areas at the parahippocampal gyrus of the temporal-occipital transition region are involved in different functions including processing visual-spatial information and episodic memory. Results of neuroimaging experiments have revealed a differentiated functional parcellation of this region, but its microstructural correlates are less well understood. Here we provide probability maps of four new cytoarchitectonic areas, Ph1, Ph2, Ph3 and CoS1 at the parahippocampal gyrus and collateral sulcus.

Improving a probabilistic cytoarchitectonic atlas of auditory cortex using a novel method for inter-individual alignment.

The human superior temporal plane, the site of the auditory cortex, displays high inter-individual macro-anatomical variation. This questions the validity of curvature-based alignment (CBA) methods for in vivo imaging data. Here, we have addressed this issue by developing CBA+, which is a cortical surface registration method that uses prior macro-anatomical knowledge.

Julich-Brain: A 3D probabilistic atlas of the human brain's cytoarchitecture.

Cytoarchitecture is a basic principle of microstructural brain parcellation. We introduce Julich-Brain, a three-dimensional atlas containing cytoarchitectonic maps of cortical areas and subcortical nuclei. The atlas is probabilistic, which enables it to account for variations between individual brains.

Four new cytoarchitectonic areas surrounding the primary and early auditory cortex in human brains.

The architectonical organization of putatively higher auditory areas in the human superior temporal gyrus and sulcus is not yet well understood. To provide a coherent map of this part of the brain, which is involved in language and other functions, we examined the cytoarchitecture and cortical parcellation of this region in histological sections of ten human postmortem brains using an observer-independent mapping approach. Two new areas were identified in the temporo-insular region (areas TeI, TI).

Cytoarchitectonic Characterization and Functional Decoding of Four New Areas in the Human Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex.

A comprehensive concept of the biological basis of reward, social and emotional behavior, and language requires a deeper understanding of the microstructure and connectivity of the underlying brain regions. Such understanding could provide deeper insights into their role in functional networks, and form the anatomical basis of the functional segregation of this region as shown in recent imaging studies. Here, we investigated the cytoarchitecture of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lateral OFC) in serial histological sections of 10 human postmortem brains by image analysis and a statistically reproducible approach to detect borders between cortical areas.

Multimodal mapping and analysis of the cyto- and receptorarchitecture of the human hippocampus.

The human hippocampal formation is relevant for various aspects of memory and learning, and the different hippocampal regions are differentially affected by neuropsychiatric disorders. Therefore, the hippocampal formation has been subject of numerous cytoarchitectonic and other mapping studies, which resulted in divergent parcellation schemes. To understand the principles of hippocampal architecture, it is necessary to integrate different levels of hippocampal organisation, going beyond one modality.

Cytoarchitectonic segregation of human posterior intraparietal and adjacent parieto-occipital sulcus and its relation to visuomotor and cognitive functions.

Human posterior intraparietal sulcus (pIPS) and adjacent posterior wall of parieto-occipital sulcus (POS) are functionally diverse, serving higher motor, visual and cognitive functions. Its microstructural basis, though, is still largely unknown. A similar or even more pronounced architectonical complexity, as described in monkeys, could be assumed.

Cytoarchitecture, probability maps, and functions of the human supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas.

The dorsal  mesial frontal cortex contains the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), which play an important role in action and cognition. Evidence from cytoarchitectonic, stimulation, and functional studies suggests structural and functional divergence between the two subregions. However, a microstructural map of these areas obtained in a representative sample of brains in a stereotaxic reference space is still lacking.

A framework based on sulcal constraints to align preterm, infant and adult human brain images acquired in vivo and post mortem.

Robust spatial alignment of post mortem data and in vivo MRI acquisitions from different ages, especially from the early developmental stages, into standard spaces is still a bottleneck hampering easy comparison with the mainstream neuroimaging results. In this paper, we test a landmark-based spatial normalization strategy as a framework for the seamless integration of any macroscopic dataset in the context of the Human Brain Project (HBP). This strategy stems from an approach called DISCO embedding sulcal constraints in a registration framework used to initialize DARTEL, the widely used spatial normalization approach proposed in the SPM software.

Correlation of Dynamic O-(2-[F]Fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine Positron Emission Tomography, Conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Whole-Brain Histopathology in a Pretreated Glioblastoma: A Postmortem Study.

Objective: Amino acid positron emission tomography (PET) using O-(2-[F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) provides important additional information on the extent of viable tumor tissue of glioblastoma compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Especially after radiochemotherapy, progression of contrast enhancement in MRI is equivocal and may represent either tumor progression or treatment-related changes. Here, the first case comparing postmortem whole-brain histology of a patient with pretreated glioblastoma with dynamic in vivo FET PET and MRI is presented.

Human Pregenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Structural, Functional, and Connectional Heterogeneity.

The human pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) encompasses 7 distinct cyto- and receptorarchitectonic areas. We lack a detailed understanding of the functions in which they are involved, and stereotaxic maps are not available. We present an integrated structural/functional map of pACC based on probabilistic cytoarchitectonic mapping and meta-analytic connectivity modeling and quantitative functional decoding.

Receptor-driven, multimodal mapping of the human amygdala.

The human amygdala consists of subdivisions contributing to various functions. However, principles of structural organization at the cellular and molecular level are not well understood. Thus, we re-analyzed the cytoarchitecture of the amygdala and generated cytoarchitectonic probabilistic maps of ten subdivisions in stereotaxic space based on novel workflows and mapping tools.

Spatial normalization of brain images and beyond.

The deformable atlas paradigm has been at the core of computational anatomy during the last two decades. Spatial normalization is the variant endowing the atlas with a coordinate system used for voxel-based aggregation of images across subjects and studies. This framework has largely contributed to the success of brain mapping.

Cytoarchitecture and probability maps of the human medial orbitofrontal cortex.

Previous architectonical studies of human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) provided divergent maps regarding number, location, and extent of areas. To solve this controversy, an observer-independent cytoarchitectonical mapping of medial OFC (mOFC) was performed. Borders of cortical areas were detected in histological sections of ten human post-mortem brains using a quantitative, statistically testable method, and their stereotaxic localization and intersubject variability were determined.

Two New Cytoarchitectonic Areas on the Human Mid-Fusiform Gyrus.

Areas of the fusiform gyrus (FG) within human ventral temporal cortex (VTC) process high-level visual information associated with faces, limbs, words, and places. Since classical cytoarchitectonic maps do not adequately reflect the functional and structural heterogeneity of the VTC, we studied the cytoarchitectonic segregation in a region, which is rostral to the recently identified cytoarchitectonic areas FG1 and FG2. Using an observer-independent and statistically testable parcellation method, we identify 2 new areas, FG3 and FG4, in 10 human postmortem brains on the mid-FG.

Cytoarchitectonic mapping of the human brain cerebellar nuclei in stereotaxic space and delineation of their co-activation patterns.

The cerebellar nuclei are involved in several brain functions, including the modulation of motor and cognitive performance. To differentiate their participation in these functions, and to analyze their changes in neurodegenerative and other diseases as revealed by neuroimaging, stereotaxic maps are necessary. These maps reflect the complex spatial structure of cerebellar nuclei with adequate spatial resolution and detail.

Functional organization of human subgenual cortical areas: Relationship between architectonical segregation and connectional heterogeneity.

Human subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC) is involved in affective experiences and fear processing. Functional neuroimaging studies view it as a homogeneous cortical entity. However, sACC comprises several distinct cyto- and receptorarchitectonical areas: 25, s24, s32, and the ventral portion of area 33.