Comparative analysis of the macroscale structural connectivity in the macaque and human brain

Journal article

The macaque brain serves as a model for the human brain, but its suitability is challenged by unique human features, including connectivity reconfigurations, which emerged during primate evolution. We perform a quantitative comparative analysis of the whole brain macroscale structural connectivity of the two species. Our findings suggest that the human and macaque brain as a whole are similarly wired. A region-wise analysis reveals many interspecies similarities of connectivity patterns, but also lack thereof, primarily involving cingulate regions. We unravel a common structural backbone in both species involving a highly overlapping set of regions. This structural backbone, important for mediating information across the brain, seems to constitute a feature of the primate brain persevering evolution. Our findings illustrate novel evolutionary aspects at the macroscale connectivity level and offer a quantitative translational bridge between macaque and human research.

Authors: Goulas, A; Bastiani, M; Bezgin, G; Uylings, H; Roebroeck, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Journal: PLoS Computational Biology
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: e1003529
• Publication date: 2014-03-27
• Acceptance date: 2014-02-07
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003529
• EISSN: 1553-7358
• ISSN: 1553-734X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Diffusion; Nerve Net; Species Specificity; Animals; Neural Pathways; Cluster Analysis; Male; Brain Mapping; Connectome; Adult; Female; Humans; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Brain; Anisotropy; Macaca; SBTMR