Microstructure & Connectivity Lab
Publications (Tractography)
Microstructure & Connectivity Lab
Publications (Tractography)
Embedded Files
Publications (Tractography)
Short Association Fiber Tractography: Key Insights and Surprising Facts
Short Association Fiber Tractography: Key Insights and Surprising Facts
Authors: Kurt Schilling, Fan Zhang, Claudio Román, Lauren O’Donnell, Pamela Guevara
Journal: Brain Structure and Function (2025)
Summary: This correspondence outlines key insights into the tractography of short association fibers (SAFs), using a “Did You Know” format to highlight current challenges, progress, and future directions. (1) Did you know SAFs form a dense mesh of superficial white matter and differ from long-range tracts in structure, development, and vulnerability? (2) Did you know reconstructing SAFs is difficult due to their short length, high curvature, and proximity to cortex? (3) Did you know recent advances in acquisition, modeling, and segmentation - like deep learning and high-resolution MRI - have made SAF tractography feasible? (4) Did you know there is no standard classification for SAFs, with atlases and clustering strategies still evolving? (5) Did you know SAFs are sensitive to developmental and pathological changes and are implicated in Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, and MS?
Microstructural Characterization of Short Association Fibers Related to Long‐Range White Matter Tracts in Normative Development
Microstructural Characterization of Short Association Fibers Related to Long‐Range White Matter Tracts in Normative Development
Authors: Chloe Cho, Maxime Chamberland, Francois Rheault, Daniel Moyer, Bennett Landman, Kurt Schilling
Journal: Human Brain Mapping (2025)
Summary: This study investigates the microstructural development of short association fibers (SAFs) in relation to long-range white matter tracts during normative development. Using DTI and NODDI models in a large cohort of youth aged 5–22 years, we identify shared and distinct developmental trajectories across superficial and deep white matter. Key differences emerged in features like FA, AD, and ODI, suggesting unique maturation profiles between these types of fibers. Significant sex and age-sex interaction effects were also observed. This study provides insights into typical microstructural changes of SAFs and long-range white matter tracts during development, laying a foundation for future research to investigate atypical development and dysfunction in disease pathology.
Large-Scale High-Resolution Probabilistic Maps of theHuman Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus Subdivisionsand their Cortical Terminations
Large-Scale High-Resolution Probabilistic Maps of theHuman Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus Subdivisionsand their Cortical Terminations
Authors: Matt Amandola, Katherine Farber, Roma Kidambi, Hoi-Chung Leung
Journal: The Journal of Neuroscience (2025)
Summary: The superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) is the major white after association tract connecting the frontal and parietal cortices. While it is described in great detail in the monkey brain due to tract-tracing studies, the organizational properties of the SLF in the human brain are unclear. In this study, we created large-scale, high-resolution probabilistic maps of the SLF subdivisions in the human brain, using imaging data from 700+ individuals via the Human Connectome Project. Our findings suggest that the human SLF closely resembles the non-human primate SLF in both dorsomedial-to-ventrolateral organization and cortical terminations. We also attempt to distinguish the SLF-I and the cingulum as two separable tracts, which is inconsistent in recent literature.
Brain connections derived from difusion MRI tractography can be highly anatomically accurate—if we know where white matter pathways start, where they end, and where they do not go
Brain connections derived from difusion MRI tractography can be highly anatomically accurate—if we know where white matter pathways start, where they end, and where they do not go
Authors: Kurt G. Schilling, Laurent Petit, Francois Rheault, Samuel Remedios, Carlo Pierpaoli, Adam W. Anderson, Bennett A. Landman, Maxime Descoteaux
Journal: Brain Structure and Function (2020)
Summary: Diffusion tractography suffers from a number of limitations, challenges, and biases. By re-analyzing several well-established datasets and benchmarks, we show that incorporating anatomical constraints into the tractography process can significantly improves the sensitivity and specificity of white matter bundle segmentation, enabling tractography to closely approximate true anatomical connectivity.
Why this is a Notable Lab publication: As the manuscript title optimistically states, we show that tractography can indeed be very highly anatomically accurate, and thus an invaluable resource to study the human brain
Tractography dissection variability: What happens when 42 groups dissect 14 white matter bundles on the same dataset?
Tractography dissection variability: What happens when 42 groups dissect 14 white matter bundles on the same dataset?
Authors: Kurt G. Schilling, François Rheault, Laurent Petit, Colin B. Hansen, Vishwesh Nath, Fang-Cheng Yeh, Gabriel Girard, Muhamed Barakovic, Jonathan Rafael-Patino, Thomas Yu, Elda Fischi-Gomez, Marco Pizzolato, Mario Ocampo-Pineda, Simona Schiavi, Erick J. Canales-Rodríguez, Alessandro Daducci, Cristina Granziera, Giorgio Innocenti, Jean-Philippe Thiran, Laura Mancini, Stephen Wastling, Sirio Cocozza, Maria Petracca, Giuseppe Pontillo, Matteo Mancini, Sjoerd B. Vos, Vejay N. Vakharia, John S. Duncan, Helena Melero, Lidia Manzanedo, Emilio Sanz-Morales, Ángel Peña-Melián, Fernando Calamante, Arnaud Attyéw, Ryan P. Cabeen, Laura Korobova, Arthur W. Toga, Anupa Ambili Vijayakumari, Drew Parker, Ragini Verma, Ahmed Radwan, Stefan Sunaert, Louise Emsell, Alberto De Luca, Alexander Leemans, Claude J. Bajada, Hamied Haroon, Hojjatollah Azadbakht, Maxime Chamberland, Sila Genc, Chantal M.W. Tax, Ping-Hong Yeh, Rujirutana Srikanchana, Colin D. Mcknight, Joseph Yuan-Mou Yang, Jian Chen, Claire E. Kelly, Chun-Hung Yeh, Jerome Cochereau, Jerome J. Maller, Thomas Welton, Fabien Almairac, Kiran K Seunarine, Chris A. Clark, Fan Zhang, Nikos Makris, Alexandra Golby, Yogesh Rathi, Lauren J. O’Donnell, Yihao Xia, Dogu Baran Aydogan, Yonggang Shi, Francisco Guerreiro Fernandes, Mathijs Raemaekers, Shaun Warrington, Stijn Michielse, Alonso Ramírez-Manzanares, Luis Concha, Ramón Aranda, Mariano Rivera Meraz, Garikoitz Lerma-Usabiaga, Lucas Roitman, Lucius S. Fekonja, Navona Calarco, Michael Joseph, Hajer Nakua, Aristotle N. Voineskos, Philippe Karan, Gabrielle Grenier, Jon Haitz Legarreta, Nagesh Adluru, Veena A. Nair, Vivek Prabhakaran, Andrew L. Alexander, Koji Kamagata, Yuya Saito, Wataru Uchida, Christina Andica, Masahiro Abe, Roza G. Bayrak, Claudia A.M. Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott, Egidio D’Angelo, Fulvia Palesi, Giovanni Savini, Nicolò Rolandi, Pamela Guevara, Josselin Houenou, Narciso López-López, Jean-François Mangin, Cyril Poupon, Claudio Román, Andrea Vázquez, Chiara Maffei, Mavilde Arantes, José Paulo Andrade, Susana Maria Silva, Vince D. Calhoun, Eduardo Caverzasi, Simone Sacco, Michael Lauricella, Franco Pestilli, Daniel Bullock, Yang Zhan, Edith Brignoni-Perez, Catherine Lebel, Jess E. Reynolds, Igor Nestrasil, René Labounek, Christophe Lenglet, Amy Paulson, Stefania Aulicka, Sarah R. Heilbronner, Katja Heuer, Bramsh Qamar Chandio, Javier Guaje, Wei Tang, Eleftherios Garyfallidis, Rajikha Raja, Adam W. Anderson, Bennett A. Landman, Maxime Descoteaux
Journal: NeuroImage (2021)
Summary: This study examines the variability in white matter tractography by analyzing how 42 research groups segmented 14 major white matter bundles from the same dataset. Despite using identical data, significant differences emerged in how pathways were identified, highlighting the impact of methodological choices on tractography outcomes. The findings underscore the need for standardized protocols to ensure reproducibility and reliability in neuroimaging research.
Why this is a Notable Lab publication: This paper reveals that different research groups can produce widely varying results when identifying the same white matter pathways, emphasizing the urgent need for standardized methods in brain imaging to improve scientific consistency and clinical applications.
White matter tract microstructure, macrostructure, and associated cortical gray matter morphology across the lifespan
White matter tract microstructure, macrostructure, and associated cortical gray matter morphology across the lifespan
Authors: Kurt G. Schilling, Jordan A. Chad, Maxime Chamberland, Victor Nozais, Francois Rheault, Derek Archer, Muwei Li, Yurui Gao, Leon Cai, Flavio Del’Acqua, Allen Newton, Daniel Moyer, John C. Gore, Catherine Lebel, Bennett A. Landman
Journal: Imaging Neuroscience (2023)
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of white matter pathways across the human lifespan, using data from 2,789 imaging sessions spanning ages 0 to 100 years. By examining white matter microstructure, macrostructure, and associated cortical features, we identify unique developmental and aging trajectories that vary across different brain pathways. These findings establish normative benchmarks for studying brain maturation and degeneration, with implications for understanding neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Why this is a Notable Lab publication: This study maps how white matter in the brain changes from infancy to old age, providing crucial insights into brain development and aging that can help detect early signs of neurological diseases.
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