1
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Bress KS, Cascio CJ. Sensorimotor regulation of facial expression - An untouched frontier. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105684. [PMID: 38710425 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Facial expression is a critical form of nonverbal social communication which promotes emotional exchange and affiliation among humans. Facial expressions are generated via precise contraction of the facial muscles, guided by sensory feedback. While the neural pathways underlying facial motor control are well characterized in humans and primates, it remains unknown how tactile and proprioceptive information reaches these pathways to guide facial muscle contraction. Thus, despite the importance of facial expressions for social functioning, little is known about how they are generated as a unique sensorimotor behavior. In this review, we highlight current knowledge about sensory feedback from the face and how it is distinct from other body regions. We describe connectivity between the facial sensory and motor brain systems, and call attention to the other brain systems which influence facial expression behavior, including vision, gustation, emotion, and interoception. Finally, we petition for more research on the sensory basis of facial expressions, asserting that incomplete understanding of sensorimotor mechanisms is a barrier to addressing atypical facial expressivity in clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly S Bress
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Carissa J Cascio
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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2
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Edlow BL, Olchanyi M, Freeman HJ, Li J, Maffei C, Snider SB, Zöllei L, Iglesias JE, Augustinack J, Bodien YG, Haynes RL, Greve DN, Diamond BR, Stevens A, Giacino JT, Destrieux C, van der Kouwe A, Brown EN, Folkerth RD, Fischl B, Kinney HC. Multimodal MRI reveals brainstem connections that sustain wakefulness in human consciousness. Sci Transl Med 2024; 16:eadj4303. [PMID: 38691619 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj4303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Consciousness is composed of arousal (i.e., wakefulness) and awareness. Substantial progress has been made in mapping the cortical networks that underlie awareness in the human brain, but knowledge about the subcortical networks that sustain arousal in humans is incomplete. Here, we aimed to map the connectivity of a proposed subcortical arousal network that sustains wakefulness in the human brain, analogous to the cortical default mode network (DMN) that has been shown to contribute to awareness. We integrated data from ex vivo diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of three human brains, obtained at autopsy from neurologically normal individuals, with immunohistochemical staining of subcortical brain sections. We identified nodes of the proposed default ascending arousal network (dAAN) in the brainstem, hypothalamus, thalamus, and basal forebrain. Deterministic and probabilistic tractography analyses of the ex vivo diffusion MRI data revealed projection, association, and commissural pathways linking dAAN nodes with one another and with DMN nodes. Complementary analyses of in vivo 7-tesla resting-state functional MRI data from the Human Connectome Project identified the dopaminergic ventral tegmental area in the midbrain as a widely connected hub node at the nexus of the subcortical arousal and cortical awareness networks. Our network-based autopsy methods and connectivity data provide a putative neuroanatomic architecture for the integration of arousal and awareness in human consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian L Edlow
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Mark Olchanyi
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Holly J Freeman
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jian Li
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Chiara Maffei
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Samuel B Snider
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lilla Zöllei
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - J Eugenio Iglesias
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jean Augustinack
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Yelena G Bodien
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Robin L Haynes
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Douglas N Greve
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Bram R Diamond
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Allison Stevens
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Joseph T Giacino
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Christophe Destrieux
- UMR 1253, iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, 10 Boulevard Tonnellé, 37032, Tours, France
- CHRU de Tours, 2 Boulevard Tonnellé, Tours, France
| | - Andre van der Kouwe
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Emery N Brown
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Bruce Fischl
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Hannah C Kinney
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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3
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Travers BG, Surgent O, Guerrero-Gonzalez J, Dean DC, Adluru N, Kecskemeti SR, Kirk GR, Alexander AL, Zhu J, Skaletski EC, Naik S, Duran M. Role of autonomic, nociceptive, and limbic brainstem nuclei in core autism features. Autism Res 2024; 17:266-279. [PMID: 38278763 PMCID: PMC10922575 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Although multiple theories have speculated about the brainstem reticular formation's involvement in autistic behaviors, the in vivo imaging of brainstem nuclei needed to test these theories has proven technologically challenging. Using methods to improve brainstem imaging in children, this study set out to elucidate the role of the autonomic, nociceptive, and limbic brainstem nuclei in the autism features of 145 children (74 autistic children, 6.0-10.9 years). Participants completed an assessment of core autism features and diffusion- and T1-weighted imaging optimized to improve brainstem images. After data reduction via principal component analysis, correlational analyses examined associations among autism features and the microstructural properties of brainstem clusters. Independent replication was performed in 43 adolescents (24 autistic, 13.0-17.9 years). We found specific nuclei, most robustly the parvicellular reticular formation-alpha (PCRtA) and to a lesser degree the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPB) and ventral tegmental parabrachial pigmented complex (VTA-PBP), to be associated with autism features. The PCRtA and some of the LPB associations were independently found in the replication sample, but the VTA-PBP associations were not. Consistent with theoretical perspectives, the findings suggest that individual differences in pontine reticular formation nuclei contribute to the prominence of autistic features. Specifically, the PCRtA, a nucleus involved in mastication, digestion, and cardio-respiration in animal models, was associated with social communication in children, while the LPB, a pain-network nucleus, was associated with repetitive behaviors. These findings highlight the contributions of key autonomic brainstem nuclei to the expression of core autism features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany G. Travers
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Kinesiology, Occupational Therapy Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Olivia Surgent
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jose Guerrero-Gonzalez
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Douglas C. Dean
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nagesh Adluru
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Gregory R. Kirk
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Andrew L. Alexander
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jun Zhu
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Emily C. Skaletski
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Kinesiology, Occupational Therapy Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sonali Naik
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Monica Duran
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Hansen JY, Cauzzo S, Singh K, García-Gomar MG, Shine JM, Bianciardi M, Misic B. Integrating brainstem and cortical functional architectures. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3569352. [PMID: 38076888 PMCID: PMC10705693 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3569352/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The brainstem is a fundamental component of the central nervous system yet it is typically excluded from in vivo human brain mapping efforts, precluding a complete understanding of how the brainstem influences cortical function. Here we use high-resolution 7 Tesla fMRI to derive a functional connectome encompassing cortex as well as 58 brainstem nuclei spanning the midbrain, pons and medulla. We identify a compact set of integrative hubs in the brainstem with widespread connectivity with cerebral cortex. Patterns of connectivity between brainstem and cerebral cortex manifest as multiple emergent phenomena including neurophysiological oscillatory rhythms, patterns of cognitive functional specialization, and the unimodal-transmodal functional hierarchy. This persistent alignment between cortical functional topographies and brainstem nuclei is shaped by the spatial arrangement of multiple neurotransmitter receptors and transporters. We replicate all findings using 3 Tesla data from the same participants. Collectively, we find that multiple organizational features of cortical activity can be traced back to the brainstem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justine Y. Hansen
- Montréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Simone Cauzzo
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Unit, Center for Rare Neurological Diseases (ERN-RND), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Kavita Singh
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Multiscale Imaging and Integrative Biophysics Unit, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - María Guadalupe García-Gomar
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, México
| | - James M. Shine
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Marta Bianciardi
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bratislav Misic
- Montréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
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5
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Toschi N, Duggento A, Barbieri R, Garcia RG, Fisher HP, Kettner NW, Napadow V, Sclocco R. Causal influence of brainstem response to transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on cardiovagal outflow. Brain Stimul 2023; 16:1557-1565. [PMID: 37827358 PMCID: PMC10809655 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The autonomic response to transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been linked to the engagement of brainstem circuitry modulating autonomic outflow. However, the physiological mechanisms supporting such efferent vagal responses are not well understood, particularly in humans. HYPOTHESIS We present a paradigm for estimating directional brain-heart interactions in response to taVNS. We propose that our approach is able to identify causal links between the activity of brainstem nuclei involved in autonomic control and cardiovagal outflow. METHODS We adopt an approach based on a recent reformulation of Granger causality that includes permutation-based, nonparametric statistics. The method is applied to ultrahigh field (7T) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected on healthy subjects during taVNS. RESULTS Our framework identified taVNS-evoked functional brainstem responses with superior sensitivity compared to prior conventional approaches, confirming causal links between taVNS stimulation and fMRI response in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS). Furthermore, our causal approach elucidated potential mechanisms by which information is relayed between brainstem nuclei and cardiovagal, i.e., high-frequency heart rate variability, in response to taVNS. Our findings revealed that key brainstem nuclei, known from animal models to be involved in cardiovascular control, exert a causal influence on taVNS-induced cardiovagal outflow in humans. CONCLUSION Our causal approach allowed us to noninvasively evaluate directional interactions between fMRI BOLD signals from brainstem nuclei and cardiovagal outflow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Toschi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome., Italy.
| | - Andrea Duggento
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome., Italy
| | - Riccardo Barbieri
- Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Ronald G Garcia
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Harrison P Fisher
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Norman W Kettner
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, USA; Scott Schoen and Nancy Adams Discovery Center for Recovery from Chronic Pain, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roberta Sclocco
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, USA; Scott Schoen and Nancy Adams Discovery Center for Recovery from Chronic Pain, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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6
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Hansen JY, Cauzzo S, Singh K, García-Gomar MG, Shine JM, Bianciardi M, Misic B. Integrating brainstem and cortical functional architectures. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.26.564245. [PMID: 37961347 PMCID: PMC10634864 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.26.564245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The brainstem is a fundamental component of the central nervous system yet it is typically excluded from in vivo human brain mapping efforts, precluding a complete understanding of how the brainstem influences cortical function. Here we use high-resolution 7 Tesla fMRI to derive a functional connectome encompassing cortex as well as 58 brainstem nuclei spanning the midbrain, pons and medulla. We identify a compact set of integrative hubs in the brainstem with widespread connectivity with cerebral cortex. Patterns of connectivity between brainstem and cerebral cortex manifest as multiple emergent phenomena including neurophysiological oscillatory rhythms, patterns of cognitive functional specialization, and the unimodal-transmodal functional hierarchy. This persistent alignment between cortical functional topographies and brainstem nuclei is shaped by the spatial arrangement of multiple neurotransmitter receptors and transporters. We replicate all findings using 3 Tesla data from the same participants. Collectively, we find that multiple organizational features of cortical activity can be traced back to the brainstem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justine Y. Hansen
- Montréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Simone Cauzzo
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Unit, Center for Rare Neurological Diseases (ERN-RND), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Kavita Singh
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Multiscale Imaging and Integrative Biophysics Unit, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - María Guadalupe García-Gomar
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, México
| | - James M. Shine
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Marta Bianciardi
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bratislav Misic
- Montréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
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7
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Edlow BL, Olchanyi M, Freeman HJ, Li J, Maffei C, Snider SB, Zöllei L, Iglesias JE, Augustinack J, Bodien YG, Haynes RL, Greve DN, Diamond BR, Stevens A, Giacino JT, Destrieux C, van der Kouwe A, Brown EN, Folkerth RD, Fischl B, Kinney HC. Sustaining wakefulness: Brainstem connectivity in human consciousness. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.13.548265. [PMID: 37502983 PMCID: PMC10369992 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.13.548265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Consciousness is comprised of arousal (i.e., wakefulness) and awareness. Substantial progress has been made in mapping the cortical networks that modulate awareness in the human brain, but knowledge about the subcortical networks that sustain arousal is lacking. We integrated data from ex vivo diffusion MRI, immunohistochemistry, and in vivo 7 Tesla functional MRI to map the connectivity of a subcortical arousal network that we postulate sustains wakefulness in the resting, conscious human brain, analogous to the cortical default mode network (DMN) that is believed to sustain self-awareness. We identified nodes of the proposed default ascending arousal network (dAAN) in the brainstem, hypothalamus, thalamus, and basal forebrain by correlating ex vivo diffusion MRI with immunohistochemistry in three human brain specimens from neurologically normal individuals scanned at 600-750 μm resolution. We performed deterministic and probabilistic tractography analyses of the diffusion MRI data to map dAAN intra-network connections and dAAN-DMN internetwork connections. Using a newly developed network-based autopsy of the human brain that integrates ex vivo MRI and histopathology, we identified projection, association, and commissural pathways linking dAAN nodes with one another and with cortical DMN nodes, providing a structural architecture for the integration of arousal and awareness in human consciousness. We release the ex vivo diffusion MRI data, corresponding immunohistochemistry data, network-based autopsy methods, and a new brainstem dAAN atlas to support efforts to map the connectivity of human consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian L. Edlow
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Mark Olchanyi
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Holly J. Freeman
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Jian Li
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Chiara Maffei
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Samuel B. Snider
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lilla Zöllei
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - J. Eugenio Iglesias
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Jean Augustinack
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Yelena G. Bodien
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA
| | - Robin L. Haynes
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Douglas N. Greve
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Bram R. Diamond
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Allison Stevens
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Joseph T. Giacino
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA
| | - Christophe Destrieux
- UMR 1253, iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, 10 Boulevard Tonnellé, 37032, Tours, France
- CHRU de Tours, 2 Boulevard Tonnellé, Tours, France
| | - Andre van der Kouwe
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
| | - Emery N. Brown
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Bruce Fischl
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown MA 02129, USA
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Hannah C. Kinney
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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