2025/04/25 by Yezhou Wang, Nicole Eichert, Casey Paquola +15 · 1 voice
Neuroscience · Medicine · #Functional Brain Connectivity Studies #Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications #Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-59177-4
Functional specialization of brain areas and subregions, as well as their integration into large-scale networks, are key principles in neuroscience. Consolidating both local and global perspectives on cortical organization, however, remains challenging. Here, we present an approach to integrate inter- and intra-areal similarities of microstructure, structural connectivity, and functional interactions. Using high-field in-vivo 7 tesla (7 T) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data and a probabilistic post-mortem atlas of cortical cytoarchitecture, we derive multimodal gradients that capture cortex-wide organization. Inter-areal similarities follow a canonical sensory-fugal gradient, linking cortical integration with functional diversity across tasks. However, intra-areal heterogeneity does not follow this pattern, with greater variability in association cortices. Findings are replicated in an independent 7 T dataset and a 100-subject 3 tesla (3 T) cohort. These results highlight a robust coupling between local arealization and global cortical motifs, advancing our understanding of how specialization and integration shape human brain function.