Reproducibility of superficial white matter tracts using diffusion-weighted imaging tractography

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 147; pp. 703 - 725
• Main Authors: Guevara, Miguel, Román, Claudio, Houenou, Josselin, Duclap, Delphine, Poupon, Cyril, Mangin, Jean François, Guevara, Pamela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.02.2017; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autism; Automation; Brain; Brain mapping; Bundle atlas; Compression; Cortex; Diffusion MRI; Dissection; Fiber clustering; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Reproducibility; Schizophrenia; Short association fibers; Substantia alba; Tractography segmentation; White matter tracts; Tractography segmentation; Diffusion MRI; White matter tracts; Fiber clustering; Bundle atlas; Short association fibers
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.11.066
• ISSN: 1053-8119

Human brain connection map is far from being complete. In particular the study of the superficial white matter (SWM) is an unachieved task. Its description is essential for the understanding of human brain function and the study of pathogenesis triggered by abnormal connectivity. In this work we automatically created a multi-subject atlas of SWM diffusion-based bundles of the whole brain. For each subject, the complete cortico-cortical tractogram is first split into sub-tractograms connecting pairs of gyri. Then intra-subject shape-based fiber clustering performs compression of each sub-tractogram into a set of bundles. Proceeding further with shape-based clustering provides a match of the bundles across subjects. Bundles found in most of the subjects are instantiated in the atlas. To increase robustness, this procedure was performed with two independent groups of subjects, in order to discard bundles without match across the two independent atlases. Finally, the resulting intersection atlas was projected on a third independent group of subjects in order to filter out bundles without reproducible and reliable projection. The final multi-subject diffusion-based U-fiber atlas is composed of 100 bundles in total, 50 per hemisphere, from which 35 are common to both hemispheres. •We propose an hybrid method for the study of the reproducibility of superficial white matter bundles of the whole brain, using diffusion-weighted imaging.•The method combines cortical parcellation and fiber clustering in order to determine reproducible well-defined bundles across subjects.•A multi-subject atlas of 100 reproducible bundles is finally created, from which 35 are common to both hemispheres.