Cortical Projection Topography of the Human Splenium: Hemispheric Asymmetry and Individual Differences

The corpus callosum is the largest white matter pathway in the human brain. The most posterior portion, known as the splenium, is critical for interhemispheric communication between visual areas. The current study employed diffusion tensor imaging to delineate the complete cortical projection topogr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cognitive neuroscience 2010-08, Vol.22 (8), p.1662-1669
Main Authors: Putnam, Mary Colvin, Steven, Megan S., Doron, Karl W., Riggall, Adam C., Gazzaniga, Michael S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Afferent Pathways - physiology
Analysis of Variance
Brain
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Cognition & reasoning
Corpus Callosum - physiology
Differences
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods
Individuality
Information processing
Male
Neurosciences
Sex Characteristics
Young Adult
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Summary:The corpus callosum is the largest white matter pathway in the human brain. The most posterior portion, known as the splenium, is critical for interhemispheric communication between visual areas. The current study employed diffusion tensor imaging to delineate the complete cortical projection topography of the human splenium. Homotopic and heterotopic connections were revealed between the splenium and the posterior visual areas, including the occipital and the posterior parietal cortices. In nearly one third of participants, there were homotopic connections between the primary visual cortices, suggesting interindividual differences in splenial connectivity. There were also more instances of connections with the right hemisphere, indicating a hemispheric asymmetry in interhemispheric connectivity within the splenium. Combined, these findings demonstrate unique aspects of human interhemispheric connectivity and provide anatomical bases for hemispheric asymmetries in visual processing and a long-described hemispheric asymmetry in speed of interhemispheric communication for visual information.
ISSN:0898-929X
1530-8898
DOI:10.1162/jocn.2009.21290