The connectivity of the superior longitudinal fasciculus: A tractography DTI study
Abstract
Purpose The left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) has been felt to link receptive with expressive language areas. The latter is located in the pars opercularis (Broca's area) of the left inferior frontal gyrus. We report the findings with tractography of the SLF in a group of normal volunteers. Methods and materials The data and subsidiary results of 12 normal right-handed volunteers who participated in an institutional review board-approved diffusion tensor imaging study were evaluated. The SLF fibers were obtained bilaterally placing a region of interest at the triangular-shaped region lateral to each of the corticospinal tracts, in a coronal plane along the rostral aspect of the corpus callosum. A sagittal fractional anisotropy image was used to determine the rostral endpoint of the SLF fibers in the white matter pertaining to specific gyri or pars of the frontal lobe. The SLF projection to Broca's area was ranked qualitatively as none, minimal, most or all. Findings are presented in descriptive statistics. Results The SLF projection to Broca's areas was absent in seven subjects (58.3%) and minimal in five (41.6%). SLF's rostral end points were found uniquely or mainly in the precentral gyrus in 100% of cases. Conclusion The SLF was found connecting the posterior language areas to the precentral gyrus and only marginally in some cases to the canonical Broca's area. This finding is consistent with reports describing lack of correlation between lateralization of the SL…
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Bernal & Altman's DTI study found that projection to Broca's area was minimal or absent in the majority of cases.
“In this diffusion tensor imaging study, the SLF of 12 normal right-handed participants was assessed to find that projection to Broca's area was minimal or absent in the majority of cases.”
From Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus: A Review of the Anatomical Descriptions With Functional Correlates (2022) · cites this paper as [57]
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- Authors
- Bernal, B., & Altman, N.
- Affiliations
- Miami Children's Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bernal, Byron
- ORCID
- Bernal, Byron
- Venue
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-02
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 217-225
- ISSN
- 0730-725X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1998546834
- Cited by
- 170
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 5.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Keywords
- superior longitudinal fasciculus, Broca's area, precentral gyrus, white matter connectivity, tractography, diffusion tensor imaging, fractional anisotropy, corpus callosum, inferior frontal gyrus
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Male, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Diffusion Tensor Imaging
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