NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Functional and structural mapping of human cerebral cortex: solutions are in the surfacesThe human cerebral cortex is notorious for the depth and irregularity of its convolutions and for its variability from one individual to the next. These complexities of cortical geography have been a chronic impediment to studies of functional specialization in the cortex. In this report, we discuss ways to compensate for the convolutions by using a combination of strategies whose common denominator involves explicit reconstructions of the cortical surface. Surface-based visualization involves reconstructing cortical surfaces and displaying them, along with associated experimental data, in various complementary formats (including three-dimensional native configurations, two-dimensional slices, extensively smoothed surfaces, ellipsoidal representations, and cortical flat maps). Generating these representations for the cortex of the Visible Man leads to a surface-based atlas that has important advantages over conventional stereotaxic atlases as a substrate for displaying and analyzing large amounts of experimental data. We illustrate this by showing the relationship between functionally specialized regions and topographically organized areas in human visual cortex. Surface-based warping allows data to be mapped from individual hemispheres to a surface-based atlas while respecting surface topology, improving registration of identifiable landmarks, and minimizing unwanted distortions. Surface-based warping also can aid in comparisons between species, which we illustrate by warping a macaque flat map to match the shape of a human flat map. Collectively, these approaches will allow more refined analyses of commonalities as well as individual differences in the functional organization of primate cerebral cortex.
Document ID
20040172760
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Van Essen, D. C.
(Washington University 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States)
Drury, H. A.
Joshi, S.
Miller, M. I.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
February 3, 1998
Publication Information
Publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume: 95
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0027-8424
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: MH1DA52158
CONTRACT_GRANT: EY02091
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Review
Non-NASA Center
Review, Tutorial
NASA Discipline Neuroscience

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available