Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA.
Sci Rep. 2018 Mar 27;8(1):5229. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23452-w.
The mammillary bodies as part of the hypothalamic nuclei are in the central limbic circuitry of the human brain. The mammillary bodies are shown to be directly or indirectly connected to the amygdala, hippocampus, and thalami as the major gray matter structures of the human limbic system. Although it is not primarily considered as part of the human limbic system, the thalamus is shown to be involved in many limbic functions of the human brain. The major direct connection of the thalami with the hypothalamic nuclei is known to be through the mammillothalamic tract. Given the crucial role of the mammillothalamic tracts in memory functions, diffusion tensor imaging may be helpful in better visualizing the surgical anatomy of this pathway noninvasively. This study aimed to investigate the utility of high spatial resolution diffusion tensor tractography for mapping the trajectory of the mammillothalamic tract in the human brain. Fifteen healthy adults were studied after obtaining written informed consent. We used high spatial resolution diffusion tensor imaging data at 3.0 T. We delineated, for the first time, the detailed trajectory of the mammillothalamic tract of the human brain using deterministic diffusion tensor tractography.
作为下丘脑核的一部分，乳头体位于人类大脑的中央边缘回路中。乳头体被证明与杏仁核、海马体和丘脑直接或间接相连，这些是人类边缘系统的主要灰质结构。尽管丘脑通常不被认为是人类边缘系统的一部分，但它被证明参与了人类大脑的许多边缘功能。丘脑与下丘脑核的主要直接连接是通过乳头丘脑束。鉴于乳头丘脑束在记忆功能中的关键作用，扩散张量成像可能有助于无创地更好地可视化该通路的手术解剖结构。本研究旨在探讨高分辨率扩散张量轨迹成像在绘制人类大脑中乳头丘脑束轨迹中的应用。在获得书面知情同意后，研究了 15 名健康成年人。我们使用了 3.0T 的高分辨率扩散张量成像数据。我们首次使用确定性扩散张量轨迹成像描绘了人类大脑中乳头丘脑束的详细轨迹。
