High‐resolution intersubject averaging and a coordinate system for the cortical surface (original) (raw)

Hum Brain Mapp. 1999; 8(4): 272–284.

Bruce Fischl

1Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts

Martin I. Sereno

2Department of Cognitive Science, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California

Roger B.H. Tootell

1Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts

Anders M. Dale

1Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts

1Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts

2Department of Cognitive Science, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California

corresponding authorCorresponding author.

*Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts Gen. Hosp./Harvard Med. School, Bldg. 149, 13th St., Charlestown, MA 02129.

Received 1998 Dec 30; Accepted 1999 Jul 6.

Abstract

The neurons of the human cerebral cortex are arranged in a highly folded sheet, with the majority of the cortical surface area buried in folds. Cortical maps are typically arranged with a topography oriented parallel to the cortical surface. Despite this unambiguous sheetlike geometry, the most commonly used coordinate systems for localizing cortical features are based on 3‐D stereotaxic coordinates rather than on position relative to the 2‐D cortical sheet. In order to address the need for a more natural surface‐based coordinate system for the cortex, we have developed a means for generating an average folding pattern across a large number of individual subjects as a function on the unit sphere and of nonrigidly aligning each individual with the average. This establishes a spherical surface‐based coordinate system that is adapted to the folding pattern of each individual subject, allowing for much higher localization accuracy of structural and functional features of the human brain. Hum. Brain Mapping 8:272–284, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Keywords: intersubject averaging, coordinate systems, atlas

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