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  • Review Article
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Imaging human connectomes at the macroscale

Nature Methods volume 10, pages 524–539 (2013)Cite this article

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At macroscopic scales, the human connectome comprises anatomically distinct brain areas, the structural pathways connecting them and their functional interactions. Annotation of phenotypic associations with variation in the connectome and cataloging of neurophenotypes promise to transform our understanding of the human brain. In this Review, we provide a survey of magnetic resonance imaging–based measurements of functional and structural connectivity. We highlight emerging areas of development and inquiry and emphasize the importance of integrating structural and functional perspectives on brain architecture.

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Figure 1: Different parcellations of the human brain.
Figure 2: Diffusion imaging of structural connectivity maps for a human brain.
Figure 3: Visualizing the connectome.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from US National Institute of Mental Health (BRAINS R01MH094639 to M.P.M. and K23MH087770 to A.D.M.), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (M.P.M.), the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (R.C.C.) and the Leon Levy Foundation (C.K. and A.D.M.). J.T.V. receives funding from the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences HDTRA1-11-1-0048 and US National Institutes of Health R01ES017436. Additional support was provided by a gift from Joseph P. Healey to the Child Mind Institute (M.P.M.). We thank D. Lurie for his assistance in the preparation of the manuscript and references as well as Z. Shehzad, Z. Yang and S. Urchs for their helpful comments. We acknowledge our colleagues who allowed us to reproduce their figures.

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Author notes

  1. Saad Jbabdi and Chao-Gan Yan: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, New York, USA

    R Cameron Craddock, Chao-Gan Yan, Joshua T Vogelstein & Michael P Milham

  2. Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York, USA

    R Cameron Craddock, Chao-Gan Yan, F Xavier Castellanos, Stan Colcombe & Michael P Milham

  3. The Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Saad Jbabdi

  4. The Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, Child Study Center, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, USA

    Chao-Gan Yan, F Xavier Castellanos, Adriana Di Martino & Clare Kelly

  5. Department of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Joshua T Vogelstein

  6. Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Joshua T Vogelstein

  7. Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Sciences, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Joshua T Vogelstein

  8. Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA

    Keith Heberlein

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Correspondence to Stan Colcombe or Michael P Milham.

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K.H. is a full time employee of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, and owns shares in Siemens, AG.

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Craddock, R., Jbabdi, S., Yan, CG. et al. Imaging human connectomes at the macroscale. Nat Methods 10, 524–539 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2482

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