Cortical network for gaze control in humans revealed using multimodal MRI

Cereb Cortex. 2012 Apr;22(4):765-75. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhr110. Epub 2011 Jun 21.

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques allow definition of cortical nodes that are presumed to be components of large-scale distributed brain networks involved in cognitive processes. However, very few investigations examine whether such functionally defined areas are in fact structurally connected. Here, we used combined fMRI and diffusion MRI-based tractography to define the cortical network involved in saccadic eye movement control in humans. The results of this multimodal imaging approach demonstrate white matter pathways connecting the frontal eye fields and supplementary eye fields, consistent with the known connectivity of these regions in macaque monkeys. Importantly, however, these connections appeared to be more prominent in the right hemisphere of humans. In addition, there was evidence of a dorsal frontoparietal pathway connecting the frontal eye field and the inferior parietal lobe, also right hemisphere dominant, consistent with specialization of the right hemisphere for directed attention in humans. These findings demonstrate the utility and potential of using multimodal imaging techniques to define large-scale distributed brain networks, including those that demonstrate known hemispheric asymmetries in humans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping*
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging
  • Female
  • Fixation, Ocular / physiology*
  • Functional Laterality
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Linear Models
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Nerve Net / blood supply
  • Nerve Net / physiology
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Visual Cortex / blood supply
  • Visual Cortex / physiology*
  • Visual Fields / physiology*
  • Visual Pathways / blood supply
  • Visual Pathways / physiology*