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Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine
Published in: Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine 3/2016

01-06-2016 | Research Article

In vivo functional connectome of human brainstem nuclei of the ascending arousal, autonomic, and motor systems by high spatial resolution 7-Tesla fMRI

Authors: Marta Bianciardi, Nicola Toschi, Cornelius Eichner, Jonathan R. Polimeni, Kawin Setsompop, Emery N. Brown, Matti S. Hämäläinen, Bruce R. Rosen, Lawrence L. Wald

Published in: Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine | Issue 3/2016

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Abstract

Objective

Our aim was to map the in vivo human functional connectivity of several brainstem nuclei with the rest of the brain by using seed-based correlation of ultra-high magnetic field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data.

Materials and methods

We used the recently developed template of 11 brainstem nuclei derived from multi-contrast structural MRI at 7 Tesla as seed regions to determine their connectivity to the rest of the brain. To achieve this, we used the increased contrast-to-noise ratio of 7-Tesla fMRI compared with 3 Tesla and time-efficient simultaneous multi-slice imaging to cover the brain with high spatial resolution (1.1-mm isotropic nominal resolution) while maintaining a short repetition time (2.5 s).

Results

The delineated Pearson’s correlation-based functional connectivity diagrams (connectomes) of 11 brainstem nuclei of the ascending arousal, motor, and autonomic systems from 12 controls are presented and discussed in the context of existing histology and animal work.

Conclusion

Considering that the investigated brainstem nuclei play a crucial role in several vital functions, the delineated preliminary connectomes might prove useful for future in vivo research and clinical studies of human brainstem function and pathology, including disorders of consciousness, sleep disorders, autonomic disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and other motor disorders.
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Metadata
Title
In vivo functional connectome of human brainstem nuclei of the ascending arousal, autonomic, and motor systems by high spatial resolution 7-Tesla fMRI
Authors
Marta Bianciardi
Nicola Toschi
Cornelius Eichner
Jonathan R. Polimeni
Kawin Setsompop
Emery N. Brown
Matti S. Hämäläinen
Bruce R. Rosen
Lawrence L. Wald
Publication date
01-06-2016
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine / Issue 3/2016
Print ISSN: 0968-5243
Electronic ISSN: 1352-8661
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-016-0546-3

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