Concurrent analysis of white matter bundles and grey matter networks in the chimpanzee

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Rogier B. Mars, University of Oxford; Jonathan O Muircheartaigh, Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment; Davide Folloni, University of Oxford; Longchuan Li, Emory University; Matthew F. Glasser, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; Saad Jbabdi, University of Oxford; Katherine L. Bryant, Radboud University Nijmegen
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-04-01
• Publisher: Springer (part of Springer Nature): Springer Open Choice Hybrid Journals
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2018, The Author(s).
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-018-1817-8
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Brain Structure and Function
• ISSN: 1863-2653
• Volume: 224
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 1021
• End Page: 1033
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was also supported by the Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Medical Engineering [WT 203148/Z/16/Z], the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.; The Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging is supported by core funding from the Wellcome Trust [203139/Z/16/Z].; The data were obtained from the National Chimpanzee Brain Resource supported by the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NS092988].; The work of R.B.M. is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) UK [BB/N019814/1] and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research NWO [452-13-015]; the work of J.O.M. is supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society [206675/Z/17/Z] and the Medical Research Council (MRC) [MR/N026063/1]; the work of D.F. is supported by the Wellcome Trust [105238/Z/14/Z]; the work of L.L. is supported by P50MH100029; the work of S.J. is supported by the Medical Research Council UK [MR/L009013/1]; the work of K.L.B. is supported by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the European Commission [750026].
• Keywords: Tractography; Diffusion MRI; Networks; Great ape; Connectivity; Comparative; Limbic system; Temporal cortex; Frontal cortex; Brain organization
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Radiology; Psychology, Experimental; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Understanding the phylogeny of the human brain requires an appreciation of brain organization of our closest animal relatives. Neuroimaging tools such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allow us to study whole-brain organization in species which can otherwise not be studied. Here, we used diffusion MRI to reconstruct the connections of the cortical hemispheres of the chimpanzee. This allowed us to perform an exploratory analysis of the grey matter structures of the chimpanzee cerebral cortex and their underlying white matter connectivity profiles. We identified a number of networks that strongly resemble those found in other primates, including the corticospinal system, limbic connections through the cingulum bundle and fornix, and occipital–temporal and temporal–frontal systems. Notably, chimpanzee temporal cortex showed a strong resemblance to that of the human brain, providing some insight into the specialization of the two species’ shared lineage.