ArticlePLoS biology2019
Microstructural and functional gradients are increasingly dissociated in transmodal cortices.
Article in PLoS biology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 293 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
293 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 585 citations in OpenAlex.
- A bias-accounting meta-analytic approach refines and expands the cerebellar behavioral topography.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Brain maps of general cognitive functioning: neuroimaging and neurobiological signatures.Translational psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Macroscale Gradient Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease: Patterns With Cognition Terms and Gene Expression Profiles.Human brain mapping · 2024Pooled it
- Distinct electroencephalography alpha-band rhythms map macroscale brain gradients.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Preserved intrinsic neural timescale organization with hierarchical variation in autism spectrum disorder.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Multiscale characterization of cortical signatures in positive and negative schizotypy: a worldwide ENIGMA study.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Top-down feedback in deep neural networks leads to functional differences during audiovisual integration.eLife · 2026Article
- A cortical gradient in area 55b links language and somato-cognitive action networks.Research square · 2026Article
- A reproducible low-dimensional architecture of human white-matter connectivity.Research square · 2026Article
- Assessing molecular, cellular and transcriptomic bases of laminar perfusion and cytoarchitecture coupling in the human cortex.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Cellular signatures underlying functional resilience in presymptomatic frontotemporal dementia.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Article
- Functional connectivity gradients depend on cortical sampling position and brain state.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A personalized map of where, when, and how to stimulate the brain to elicit controlled responses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Degeneration of Microstructural and Structural Connectivity Patterns Following Stroke.Stroke · 2026Article
- Metabolism-weighted brain connectome reveals synaptic integration and vulnerability to neurodegeneration.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Multiscale structural connectome eigenmodes constrain human brain functional dynamics.Communications biology · 2026Article
- The genetic architecture of cortical similarity networks.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Decreased amyloid-related structure-function coupling in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Correlation of thalamic functional organization disturbances and genetic architecture in motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2026Article
- Categorization is 'baked' into the brain.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
233 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
While the role of cortical microstructure in organising neural function is well established, it remains unclear how structural constraints can give rise to more flexible elements of cognition. While nonhuman primate research has demonstrated a close structure-function correspondence, the relationship between microstructure and function remains poorly understood in humans, in part because of the reliance on post mortem analyses, which cannot be directly related to functional data. To overcome this barrier, we developed a novel approach to model the similarity of microstructural profiles sampled in the direction of cortical columns. Our approach was initially formulated based on an ultra-high-resolution 3D histological reconstruction of an entire human brain and then translated to myelin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in a large cohort of healthy adults. This novel method identified a system-level gradient of microstructural differentiation traversing from primary sensory to limbic regions that followed shifts in laminar differentiation and cytoarchitectural complexity. Importantly, while microstructural and functional gradients described a similar hierarchy, they became increasingly dissociated in transmodal default mode and fronto-parietal networks. Meta-analytic decoding of these topographic dissociations highlighted involvement in higher-level aspects of cognition, such as cognitive control and social cognition. Our findings demonstrate a relative decoupling of macroscale functional from microstructural gradients in transmodal regions, which likely contributes to the flexible role these regions play in human cognition.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.