ArticleBrain structure & function2019
Ex vivo visualization of the trigeminal pathways in the human brainstem using 11.7T diffusion MRI combined with microscopy polarized light imaging.
Article in Brain structure & function, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Motor cortex stimulation in chronic neuropathic orofacial pain syndromes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Alterations in grey matter density and functional connectivity in trigeminal neuropathic pain and trigeminal neuralgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2019Pooled it
- Bridging the microstructural gap in human connectomics using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography as a reference for diffusion MRI in the human brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Deep learning-based segmentation in MRI-(immuno)histological examination of myelin and axonal damage in normal-appearing white matter and white matter hyperintensities.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Delineation of the trigeminal-lateral parabrachial-central amygdala tract in humans.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Permittivity tensor imaging: modular label-free imaging of 3D dry mass and 3D orientation at high resolution.Nature methods · 2024Article
- Evaluating backscattering polarized light imaging microstructural mapping capabilities through neural tissue and analogous phantom imaging.Journal of biomedical optics · 2024Article
- Somatotopic organization of the ventral nuclear group of the dorsal thalamus: deep brain stimulation for neuropathic pain reveals new insights into the facial homunculus.Brain structure & function · 2024Article
- Ultrahigh-resolution 7-Tesla anatomic magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging ofFrontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Article
- Using light and X-ray scattering to untangle complex neuronal orientations and validate diffusion MRI.eLife · 2023Article
- Review
- The trigeminal pathways.Journal of neurology · 2022Review
- Additional fiber orientations in the sagittal stratum-noise or anatomical fine structure?Brain structure & function · 2022Article
- E-Learning Three-Dimensional Anatomy of the Brainstem: Impact of Different Microscopy Techniques and Spatial Ability.Anatomical sciences education · 2022Article
- High-fidelity approximation of grid- and shell-based sampling schemes from undersampled DSI using compressed sensing: Post mortem validation.NeuroImage · 2021Article
- Mapping the trigeminal root entry zone and its pontine fibre distribution patterns.Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · 2020Article
- Anatomy of nerve fiber bundles at micrometer-resolution in the vervet monkey visual system.eLife · 2020Article
- Article
- Article
- White matter changes in the perforant path area in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Neuropathology and applied neurobiology · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Classic anatomical atlases depict a contralateral hemispheral representation of each side of the face. Recently, however, a bilateral projection of each hemiface was hypothesized, based on animal studies that showed the coexistence of an additional trigeminothalamic tract sprouting from the trigeminal principal sensory nucleus that ascends ipsilaterally. This study aims to provide an anatomical substrate for the hypothesized bilateral projection. Three post-mortem human brainstems were scanned for anatomical and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging at 11.7T. The trigeminal tracts were delineated in each brainstem using track density imaging (TDI) and tractography. To evaluate the reconstructed tracts, the same brainstems were sectioned for polarized light imaging (PLI). Anatomical 11.7T MRI shows a dispersion of the trigeminal tract (tt) into a ventral and dorsal portion. This bifurcation was also seen on the TDI maps, tractography results and PLI images of all three specimens. Referring to a similar anatomic feature in primate brains, the dorsal and ventral tracts were named the dorsal and ventral trigeminothalamic tract (dtt and vtt), respectively. This study shows that both the dtt and vtt are present in humans, indicating that each hemiface has a bilateral projection, although the functional relevance of these tracts cannot be determined by the present anatomical study. If both tracts convey noxious stimuli, this could open up new insights into and treatments for orofacial pain in patients.
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