Center for Neuroscience, Delaware State University, Dover, Delaware, USA.
Dev Dyn. 2020 Sep;249(9):1047-1061. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.218. Epub 2020 Jul 20.
The brain is composed of a complex web of networks but we have yet to map the structural connections of the human brain in detail. Diffusion MR imaging is a high-throughput method that relies on the principle of diffusion to reconstruct tracts (ie, pathways) across the brain. Although diffusion MR tractography is an exciting method to explore the structural connectivity of the brain in development and across species, the tractography has at times led to questionable interpretations. There are at present few if any alternative methods to trace structural pathways in the human brain. Given these limitations and the potential of diffusion MR imaging to map the human connectome, it is imperative that we develop new approaches to validate neuroimaging techniques. I discuss our recent studies integrating neuroimaging with transcriptional and anatomical variation across humans and other species over the course of development and in adulthood. Developing a novel framework to harness the potential of diffusion MR tractography provides new and exciting opportunities to study the evolution of developmental mechanisms generating variation in connections and bridge the gap between model systems to humans.
大脑由复杂的网络组成，但我们尚未详细绘制人类大脑的结构连接图。弥散磁共振成像是一种高通量的方法，它依赖于扩散原理来重建大脑中的束（即通路）。尽管弥散磁共振束追踪是一种探索大脑在发育过程中和不同物种之间结构连接的令人兴奋的方法，但有时追踪会导致有问题的解释。目前，几乎没有其他方法可以追踪人类大脑中的结构通路。鉴于这些限制以及弥散磁共振成像绘制人类连接组的潜力，我们必须开发新的方法来验证神经影像学技术。我讨论了我们最近的研究，这些研究整合了神经影像学与转录组学和解剖学的变化，跨越了人类和其他物种在发育过程中和成年期的变化。开发一种新的框架来利用弥散磁共振束追踪的潜力，为研究产生连接变化的发育机制的进化提供了新的令人兴奋的机会，并弥合了模型系统与人类之间的差距。
