Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on April 27, 2004
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
14/9/945    most recent
bhh055v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (48)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Büchel, C.
Right arrow Articles by Koch, M.A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Büchel, C.
Right arrow Articles by Koch, M.A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Cerebral Cortex September 2004; 14:945-951
© Oxford University Press 2004

Article

White Matter Asymmetry in the Human Brain: A Diffusion Tensor MRI Study

C. Büchel1, T. Raedler2, M. Sommer3, M. Sach1, C. Weiller1 and M.A. Koch1

1 NeuroImage Nord, Department of Neurology, Hamburg University Medical School, Germany, 2 NeuroImage Nord, Department of Psychiatry, Hamburg University Medical School, Germany, 3 Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Göttingen, Germany

Language ability and handedness are likely to be associated with asymmetry of the cerebral cortex (grey matter) and connectivity (white matter). Grey matter asymmetry, most likely linked to language has been identified with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) using T1-weighted images. Differences in white matter obtained with this technique are less consistent, probably due to the relative insensitivity of the T1 contrast to the ultrastructure of white matter. Furthermore, previous VBM studies failed to find differences related to handedness in either grey or white matter. We revisited these issues and investigated two independent groups of subjects with diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) for asymmetries in white matter composition. Using voxel-based statistical analyses an asymmetry of the arcuate fascicle was observed, with higher fractional anisotropy in the left hemisphere. In addition, we show differences related to handedness in the white matter underneath the precentral gyrus contralateral to the dominant hand. Remarkably, these findings were very robust, even when investigating small groups of subjects. This highlights the sensitivity of DTI for white matter tissue differences, making it an ideal tool to study small patient populations.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
J. Dubois, L. Hertz-Pannier, A. Cachia, J. F. Mangin, D. Le Bihan, and G. Dehaene-Lambertz
Structural Asymmetries in the Infant Language and Sensori-Motor Networks
Cereb Cortex, June 17, 2008; (2008) bhn097v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JSLHRHome page
C. L. Ludlow, J. Hoit, R. Kent, L. O. Ramig, R. Shrivastav, E. Strand, K. Yorkston, and C. M. Sapienza
Translating Principles of Neural Plasticity Into Research on Speech Motor Control Recovery and Rehabilitation
J Speech Lang Hear Res, February 1, 2008; 51(1): S240 - S258.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
T. J. Eluvathingal, K. M. Hasan, L. Kramer, J. M. Fletcher, and L. Ewing-Cobbs
Quantitative Diffusion Tensor Tractography of Association and Projection Fibers in Normally Developing Children and Adolescents
Cereb Cortex, December 1, 2007; 17(12): 2760 - 2768.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. Catani, M. P. G. Allin, M. Husain, L. Pugliese, M. M. Mesulam, R. M. Murray, and D. K. Jones
Symmetries in human brain language pathways correlate with verbal recall
PNAS, October 23, 2007; 104(43): 17163 - 17168.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
S. Marenco, M. A. Siuta, J. S. Kippenhan, S. Grodofsky, W.-l. Chang, P. Kohn, C. B. Mervis, C. A. Morris, D. R. Weinberger, A. Meyer-Lindenberg, et al.
Genetic contributions to white matter architecture revealed by diffusion tensor imaging in Williams syndrome
PNAS, September 18, 2007; 104(38): 15117 - 15122.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Neuroradiol.Home page
S. Rodrigo, O. Naggara, C. Oppenheim, N. Golestani, C. Poupon, Y. Cointepas, J.F. Mangin, D. Le Bihan, and J.F. Meder
Human Subinsular Asymmetry Studied by Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Fiber Tracking
AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., September 1, 2007; 28(8): 1526 - 1531.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
S. Kloppel, A. Vongerichten, T. v. Eimeren, R. S. J. Frackowiak, and H. R. Siebner
Can Left-Handedness be Switched? Insights from an Early Switch of Handwriting
J. Neurosci., July 18, 2007; 27(29): 7847 - 7853.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch NeurolHome page
B. Borroni, S. M. Brambati, C. Agosti, S. Gipponi, G. Bellelli, R. Gasparotti, V. Garibotto, M. Di Luca, P. Scifo, D. Perani, et al.
Evidence of White Matter Changes on Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Frontotemporal Dementia
Arch Neurol, February 1, 2007; 64(2): 246 - 251.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
C. M. Stinear, P. A. Barber, P. R. Smale, J. P. Coxon, M. K. Fleming, and W. D. Byblow
Functional potential in chronic stroke patients depends on corticospinal tract integrity
Brain, January 1, 2007; 130(1): 170 - 180.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurol. Neurosurg. PsychiatryHome page
A Padovani, B Borroni, S M Brambati, C Agosti, M Broli, R Alonso, P Scifo, G Bellelli, A Alberici, R Gasparotti, et al.
Diffusion tensor imaging and voxel based morphometry study in early progressive supranuclear palsy
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, April 1, 2006; 77(4): 457 - 463.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.