Combined use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and tractography to select specific white matter fibers: A preliminary study

Tractography is a magnetic resonance imaging post processing technique, that reveals white matter tracts. The selection of specific tracts is a current research topic in medical imaging. Fibers of a male patient were chosen by using a ROI selection generated by activation of the primary motor cortex area (SM1) of the left hand (fMRI), and fiber tracts related to that cortex area (efferent fibers) were obtained. Fibers obtained through this procedure present the typical arrangement of the corticospinal tract motor fibers: originated from the motor cortex, they descend through the posterior limb of the internal capsule to converge to the cerebral peduncle until the pons. We have concluded that it is possible to select the corticospinal tract by using a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to generate ROI selection.