Editing Tractography (section)

{{short description|3D visualization of nerve tracts via diffusion MRI}}
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| name            = Tractography
| image           = File:Tractography animated lateral view.gif|thumb|
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| caption         = Tractography of human brain|
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| purpose         =used to visually represent nerve tracts 
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In [[neuroscience]], '''tractography''' is a [[3D modeling]] technique used to visually represent [[nerve tract]]s using data collected by [[diffusion MRI]].<ref name="Basser_2000" /> It uses special techniques of [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) and computer-based diffusion MRI. The results are presented in two- and three-dimensional images called '''tractograms'''.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/med/9780199541164.001.0001 |title=Atlas of Human Brain Connections |date=2012 | vauthors = Catani M, Thiebaut De Schotten M |isbn=978-0-19-954116-4 }}{{pn|date=September 2023}}</ref>

In addition to the long tracts that connect the [[brain]] to the rest of the body, there are complicated [[neural circuit]]s formed by short connections among different [[Cerebral cortex|cortical]] and [[subcortical]] regions. The existence of these tracts and circuits has been revealed by [[histochemistry]] and [[biology|biological]] techniques on [[post-mortem]] specimens. Nerve tracts are not identifiable by direct exam, [[computed tomography|CT]], or [[MRI]] scans. This difficulty explains the paucity of their description in [[neuroanatomy]] atlases and the poor understanding of their functions.

The most advanced tractography algorithm can produce 90% of the ground truth bundles, but it still contains a substantial amount of invalid results.<ref name="ChallengeNatComm2017">{{cite journal | vauthors = Maier-Hein KH, Neher PF, Houde JC, Côté MA, Garyfallidis E, Zhong J, Chamberland M, Yeh FC, Lin YC, Ji Q, Reddick WE, Glass JO, Chen DQ, Feng Y, Gao C, Wu Y, Ma J, He R, Li Q, Westin CF, Deslauriers-Gauthier S, González JO, Paquette M, St-Jean S, Girard G, Rheault F, Sidhu J, Tax CM, Guo F, Mesri HY, Dávid S, Froeling M, Heemskerk AM, Leemans A, Boré A, Pinsard B, Bedetti C, Desrosiers M, Brambati S, Doyon J, Sarica A, Vasta R, Cerasa A, Quattrone A, Yeatman J, Khan AR, Hodges W, Alexander S, Romascano D, Barakovic M, Auría A, Esteban O, Lemkaddem A, Thiran JP, Cetingul HE, Odry BL, Mailhe B, Nadar MS, Pizzagalli F, Prasad G, Villalon-Reina JE, Galvis J, Thompson PM, Requejo FS, Laguna PL, Lacerda LM, Barrett R, Dell'Acqua F, Catani M, Petit L, Caruyer E, Daducci A, Dyrby TB, Holland-Letz T, Hilgetag CC, Stieltjes B, Descoteaux M | title = The challenge of mapping the human connectome based on diffusion tractography | journal = Nature Communications | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | pages = 1349 | date = November 2017 | pmid = 29116093 | pmc = 5677006 | doi = 10.1038/s41467-017-01285-x | bibcode = 2017NatCo...8.1349M }}</ref>