Assessing regularity and variability of cortical folding patterns of working memory ROIs

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Anatomy

Background:

• Cortical folding patterns are linked to brain structure and function.
• Identifying brain regions of interest (ROIs) often relies on expert knowledge of these patterns.
• Quantitative methods for mapping folding patterns and brain function are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively analyze the regularity and variability of cortical folding patterns.
• To investigate these patterns in working memory ROIs identified using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Main Methods:

• Utilized shape attributes derived from multi-resolution decomposition of cortical surfaces.
• Described meso-scale folding patterns using a polynomial-based approach.
• Incorporated brain atlas label distribution for global-scale pattern description.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated deep-rooted regularity in cortical folding patterns for specific working memory ROIs across subjects.
• Identified potential for folding pattern attributes in characterizing and predicting ROIs.

Conclusions:

• Cortical folding patterns exhibit inherent regularity in functionally specialized brain regions.
• Folding pattern analysis offers a promising avenue for objective ROI characterization and prediction.