Combining fMRI and DTI: A framework for exploring the limits of fMRI-guided DTI fiber tracking and for verifying DTI-based fiber tractography results

A powerful, non-invasive technique for estimating and visualizing white matter tracts in the human brain in vivo is white matter fiber tractography that uses magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging. The success of this method depends strongly on the capability of the applied tracking algorithm and the quality of the underlying data set. However, DTI-based fiber tractography still lacks standardized validation. In the present work, a combined fMRI/DTI study was performed, both to develop a setup for verifying fiber tracking results using fMRI-derived functional connections and to explore the limitations of fMRI based DTI fiber tracking. Therefore, a minor fiber bundle that features several fiber crossings and intersections was examined: The striatum and its connections to the primary motor cortex were examined by using two approaches to derive the somatotopic organization of the striatum. First, an fMRI-based somatotopic map of the striatum was reconstructed, based on fMRI activations that were provoked by unilateral motor tasks. Second, fMRI-guided DTI fiber tracking was performed to generate DTI-based somatotopic maps, using a standard line propagation and an advanced fast marching algorithm. The results show that the fiber connections reconstructed by the advanced fast marching algorithm are in good agreement with known anatomy, and that the DTI-revealed somatotopy is similar to the fMRI somatotopy. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the combination of fMRI with DTI can supply additional information in order to choose reasonable seed regions for generating functionally relevant networks and to validate reconstructed fibers.