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Structural and functional analyses of human cerebral cortex using a surface-based atlasWe have analyzed the geometry, geography, and functional organization of human cerebral cortex using surface reconstructions and cortical flat maps of the left and right hemispheres generated from a digital atlas (the Visible Man). The total surface area of the reconstructed Visible Man neocortex is 1570 cm2 (both hemispheres), approximately 70% of which is buried in sulci. By linking the Visible Man cerebrum to the Talairach stereotaxic coordinate space, the locations of activation foci reported in neuroimaging studies can be readily visualized in relation to the cortical surface. The associated spatial uncertainty was empirically shown to have a radius in three dimensions of approximately 10 mm. Application of this approach to studies of visual cortex reveals the overall patterns of activation associated with different aspects of visual function and the relationship of these patterns to topographically organized visual areas. Our analysis supports a distinction between an anterior region in ventral occipito-temporal cortex that is selectively involved in form processing and a more posterior region (in or near areas VP and V4v) involved in both form and color processing. Foci associated with motion processing are mainly concentrated in a region along the occipito-temporal junction, the ventral portion of which overlaps with foci also implicated in form processing. Comparisons between flat maps of human and macaque monkey cerebral cortex indicate significant differences as well as many similarities in the relative sizes and positions of cortical regions known or suspected to be homologous in the two species.
Document ID
20040172915
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Van Essen, D. C.
(Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States)
Drury, H. A.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
September 15, 1997
Publication Information
Publication: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Volume: 17
Issue: 18
ISSN: 0270-6474
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: MH
CONTRACT_GRANT: EY02091
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Discipline Neuroscience
Non-NASA Center

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