regionconnect

RegionConnect: Extraction of Standardized White Matter Connectivity Information

RegionConnect extracts standardized brain connectivity information for white matter regions in voxel-wise neuroimaging studies by integrating precalculated average healthy adult connectome data in standard space.

Key Features:

• Standardized Connectivity Extraction: Retrieves connectivity profiles for specified white matter voxels to improve specificity of voxel-wise neuroimaging findings.
• Precalculated Connectome Integration: Utilizes average healthy adult brain connectivity data derived from the IIT Human Brain Atlas v.5.0 for rapid data integration.
• Multi-Layer Connectivity-Based Labels: Assigns multi-layer labels to each white matter voxel in the IIT Human Brain Atlas v.5.0 to represent axons from multiple connections.
• Rapid Integration Algorithm: Aggregates voxel-level connectivity labels within a selected white matter region to generate a ranked list of probable traversing connections.

Scientific Applications:

• Voxel-Wise Neuroimaging Analysis: Enhances reporting and interpretation of white matter findings.
• Brain Disease Research: Supports diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring using standardized connectivity profiles.
• Aging and Postmortem MRI Studies: Enables analysis of connectivity alterations in aging cohorts.

Methodology:

RegionConnect is based on generation and evaluation of a white matter connectome using the IIT Human Brain Atlas v.5.0, validated against Human Connectome Project participants for spatial organization of streamlines and track-density patterns. The connectome enables creation of multi-layer, connectivity-based voxel labels. The RegionConnect algorithm integrates these labels across user-specified white matter regions to infer probable connections without requiring high angular resolution diffusion MRI or subject-specific MRI data.