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Mapping the structural connections between the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula/ventrolateral prefrontal
Wei Tang1,2, Javier Guaje3, Shreyas Fadnavis4
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States.
Imaging Neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
|May 29, 2026
Summary
Researchers improved diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) to map brain connections. This technique now accurately reconstructs pathways between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula/ventral lateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC).
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neuroanatomy
- White Matter Tractography
Background:
- The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, and ventral lateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) are functionally interconnected.
- The ACC and insula are key hubs of the salience network, involved in stimulus detection and inter-network communication.
- ACC-vlPFC connections are crucial for inhibitory control, but their structural basis in humans is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural connections between the ACC and the insula/vlPFC in the human brain.
- To overcome limitations of standard diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) in capturing these specific pathways.
- To refine dMRI tractography methods for improved anatomical accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Utilized nonhuman primate (NHP) dMRI to diagnose fiber orientation biases affecting ACC-insula/vlPFC streamline reconstruction.
- Developed a reweighting approach to correct fiber orientation density functions based on individual variability.
- Applied the corrected dMRI technique to human brain data.
Main Results:
- Identified and corrected fiber orientation biases in deep white matter impacting ACC-insula/vlPFC pathway reconstruction.
- Successfully reconstructed previously elusive ACC-insula/vlPFC pathways using the adjusted dMRI method.
- Demonstrated the anatomical validity of functional relationships between these critical brain regions.
Conclusions:
- The refined dMRI approach enables accurate mapping of ACC-insula/vlPFC structural connections.
- This advancement provides crucial anatomical support for the functional roles of the salience network and inhibitory control circuits.
- The study highlights the potential of technical dMRI adjustments for understanding complex human brain circuitry.
Keywords:
anterior cingulate cortexcross-species neuroanatomydMRIinsulasalience networkventrolateral prefrontal cortexMore Related Videos
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