Functional vs anatomical cortico-striatal connectivity in the macaque brain

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroanatomy
• Systems Neuroscience

Background:

• The cerebral cortex is the primary input to the striatum, initiating cortico-basal ganglia pathways.
• Primate research has mapped cortical projections to the striatum, while human studies link functional connectivity to various states.
• The degree to which functional connectivity mirrors anatomical connectivity remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the overlap between cortico-striatal anatomical and functional connectivity.
• To determine if functional connectivity recapitulates the specific topographies of anatomical connections.

Main Methods:

• Combined datasets of cortico-striatal anatomical and functional connectivity in macaques.
• Utilized multiple metrics to assess similarity between connectivity types.

Main Results:

• Found higher correspondence between anatomical and functional connectivity in frontal and somatosensory cortices.
• Observed lower correspondence in other brain regions.
• Indicated that functional connectivity may not always be driven by direct anatomical connections.

Conclusions:

• Cortico-striatal functional connectivity partially reflects anatomical organization.
• Discrepancies suggest other factors influence functional connectivity beyond direct anatomical links.