Experimental Psychology Department, and Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, 18071, Spain.
Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, 33000, France.
Brain Struct Funct. 2024 Sep;229(7):1665-1679. doi: 10.1007/s00429-024-02824-1. Epub 2024 Jul 6.
Attention is a heterogeneous function theoretically divided into different systems. While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has extensively characterized their functioning, the role of white matter in cognitive function has gained recent interest due to diffusion-weighted imaging advancements. However, most evidence relies on correlations between white matter properties and behavioral or cognitive measures. This study used a new method that combines the signal from distant voxels of fMRI images using the probability of structural connection given by high-resolution normative tractography. We analyzed three fMRI datasets with a visual perceptual task and three attentional manipulations: phasic alerting, spatial orienting, and executive attention. The phasic alerting network engaged temporal areas and their communication with frontal and parietal regions, with left hemisphere dominance. The orienting network involved bilateral fronto-parietal and midline regions communicating by association tracts and interhemispheric fibers. The executive attention network engaged a broad set of brain regions and white matter tracts connecting them, with a particular involvement of frontal areas and their connections with the rest of the brain. These results partially confirm and extend previous knowledge on the neural substrates of the attentional system, offering a more comprehensive understanding through the integration of structure and function.
注意是一种理论上可分为不同系统的异构功能。虽然功能磁共振成像（fMRI）已广泛描述了它们的功能，但由于扩散加权成像技术的进步，大脑白质在认知功能中的作用最近引起了人们的兴趣。然而，大多数证据依赖于白质特性与行为或认知测量之间的相关性。本研究使用了一种新方法，该方法结合了 fMRI 图像中遥远体素的信号，使用高分辨率规范示踪术给出的结构连接概率。我们分析了三个具有视觉感知任务和三个注意力操作的 fMRI 数据集：突发警觉、空间定向和执行注意。突发警觉网络涉及颞叶区域及其与额叶和顶叶区域的通讯，表现出左半球优势。定向网络涉及双侧额顶叶和中线区域，通过联合束和半球间纤维进行通讯。执行注意网络涉及广泛的脑区和连接它们的白质束，额叶区域及其与大脑其余部分的连接特别参与其中。这些结果部分证实并扩展了关于注意力系统神经基础的先前知识，通过结构和功能的整合提供了更全面的理解。
