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Cortical projections to the human red nucleus: a diffusion tensor tractography study with a 1.5-T MRI machine

  • Functional Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Introduction

Previous studies in apes and monkeys have shown that the red nucleus receives projections from the sensorimotor and premotor cortices, whereas other experiments carried out with injured human brains have found corticorubral projections issuing from associative areas. Therefore, we reassessed in vivo the human anatomical projections from the cerebral cortex to the red nucleus using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) axonal tracking.

Methods

The connectivity between the cerebral cortex and the red nuclei of seven volunteers was studied at 1.5 T using streamlined DTI axonal tracking.

Results

Trajectories were constantly tracked between the red nuclei and the ipsilateral pericentral and prefrontal cortices, as well as the temporal cortex and the striatum in two subjects. Within the cerebral trunk, trajectories also include the superior cerebellar peduncle and the central tegmental tract.

Conclusion

The human red nucleus receives its main afferences from the sensorimotor and prefrontal cortices.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Adrian Istoc with the iconography.

Confict of interest statement

We declare that we have no conflict of interest

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Neuroimagerie, Centre Hospitalier National d’Optalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, 28, rue de Charenton, 75012, Paris, France

    Christophe Habas & Emmanuel Alain Cabanis

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  1. Christophe Habas
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  2. Emmanuel Alain Cabanis
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Correspondence to Christophe Habas.

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Habas, C., Cabanis, E.A. Cortical projections to the human red nucleus: a diffusion tensor tractography study with a 1.5-T MRI machine. Neuroradiology 48, 755–762 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-006-0117-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-006-0117-9

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