Compartmentation and Connectivity of the Thalamus: fMRI "Resting State" and DWI Examinations

人类丘脑的内部分割、连接模式、回路的功能以及与大脑皮层的关系，仍在一定程度上构成了一块看不见的土地。大脑皮质中几乎所有的信息处理都强烈依赖于丘脑之间的相互作用。因此，丘脑连接和相互连接的知识对于理解皮质功能是重要的。虽然丘脑的变化在精神和神经退行性疾病的功能定义的病理生理学中起着重要的作用，但其内部结构在很大程度上是基于结构性细胞构筑死后图谱来识别和描绘的，用于神经或放射外科干预的定位。因此，迫切需要了解体内丘脑的功能和结构细分，并为科学和临床研究提供有效的地图。本研究的目的是通过使用静息状态功能磁共振成像(RsfMRI)和弥散加权成像(DWI)来检查丘脑的细分并确定其皮质连接模式。首先，我们希望提供人体丘脑的活体分割，用于分析和解释临床神经科学中的影像表现。其次，将通过相关分析和纤维跟踪(FT)来分析这种分区与皮质结构的连通性。此外，具体的半球和性别差异将在随后的分段方面进行描述。最后，在第三步中，将比较丘脑的功能和结构分段，并与现有的解剖图谱相关联。总体而言，我们希望这个项目将加强我们对丘脑与大脑的感觉和认知功能相协调的作用的理解。

The human thalamus in terms of its internal parcellation, its connectivity patterns, the functioning of its circuitry, and its relationship to the cerebral cortex, still partly constitutes a terra incognita. Almost all information processing in cortex strongly depends on the thalamic interactions. Therefore, the knowledge of thalamic connections and interconnections is important to understand cortical functions. Although changes in the thalamus play a prominent role in the functionally defined pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, its internal structures are largely identified and delineated based on structural cytoarchitectonic postmortem atlases, which are used for localization of neuro- or radiosurgical interventions. As such, there is an urgent need to understand the functional and structural subdivisions of the thalamus in vivo and provide a valid map for scientific and clinical studies. The objective of our study is to examine the subdivisions of the thalamus and determine its cortical connectivity pattern by the use of resting state fMRI (rsfMRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). First, we want to provide an in vivo segmentation of the human thalamus, which can be used for the analysis and interpretation of imaging findings in the clinical neurosciences. Secondly, this compartmentation will be analyzed in respect to its connectivity with cortical structures by means of correlation analysis and fiber tracking (FT). In addition, specific hemispheric and gender differences will be characterized in terms of the ensuing segmentations. Finally, in a third step, the functional and structural segmentation of the thalamus will be compared and related to the existing anatomical atlases. Overall, we hope that this project will enhance our understanding of the role of the thalamus in concert with the sensory and cognitive functions of the brain.