July 26, 2016　　12:00 〜 13:00

CiNet 1F Conference Room

Michel Thiebaut de Schotten

Head of the Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Group
Brain and Spine Institute

Frontlab
Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (ICM)
UPMC UMRS 1127
Inserm U 1127
CNRS UMR 7225

Host : Kaoru Amemiya (Naito group)

Abstract:

The nature of the inputs and outputs of a brain region defines its functional specialization. The frontal portion of the brain is essential for goal-directed behaviors, however the biological basis for its functional organization is unknown. Here, exploring structural connectomic properties, we delineated 12 frontal areas, defined by the pattern of their white matter connections. This result was highly reproducible across neuroimaging centers, acquisition parameters and participants. These areas corresponded to regions functionally engaged in specific tasks, organized along a rostro-caudal axis from the most complex high-order association areas to the simplest idiotopic areas. The rostro-caudal axis along which the 12 regions were organized also reflected a gradient of cortical thickness, myelination and cell body density. Importantly, across the identified regions, this gradient of microstructural features was strongly associated with the varying degree of information processing complexity. These new anatomical signatures in the frontal lobes could help strengthen the prediction or diagnosis of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.