ArticleNeuroImage2022
Insights from the IronTract challenge: Optimal methods for mapping brain pathways from multi-shell diffusion MRI.
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Article in NeuroImage, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
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31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Considerations and recommendations from the ISMRM diffusion study group for preclinical diffusion MRI: Part 2-Ex vivo imaging: Added value and acquisition.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2025Guideline
- Weakening of Subcortical and Strengthening of Cortical Visual Pathways Across Early Adolescence.Human brain mapping · 2026Article
- Graph-Based White Matter Tractometry: Methods, Applications, and the Path to Validation.Neuroinformatics · 2026Review
- Mapping the topographic organization of the human zona incerta using diffusion MRI.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Protocol for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and tractography in ex vivo mouse models.STAR protocols · 2026Article
- A human subcortical connectome at 400 μm resolution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Deep Brain Stimulation Response Circuits in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.Biological psychiatry · 2026Review
- What needs to be standardized for reliable, reproducible, and robust tractography?GigaScience · 2026Review
- The modular nature of long-association pathways in the human brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Impact of tractogram filtering and graph creation for structural connectomics in subjects with Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Streamline Density Normalization: A Robust Approach to Mitigate Bundle Variability in Multi-Site Diffusion MRI.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Considerations and recommendations from the ISMRM diffusion study group for preclinical diffusion MRI: Part 1: In vivo small-animal imaging.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2025Review
- Cross-species neuroanatomy in primates using tractography.Brain structure & function · 2025Review
- Imaging the structural connectome with hybrid MRI-microscopy tractography.Medical image analysis · 2025Article
- Real-Time Tractography-Assisted Neuronavigation for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Streamline tractography of the fetal brain in utero with machine learning.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Self-supervised segmentation and characterization of fiber bundles in anatomic tracing data.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Translation of monosynaptic circuits underlying amygdala fMRI neurofeedback training.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Article
- Reproducibility of arterial spin labeling cerebral blood flow image processing: A report of the ISMRM open science initiative for perfusion imaging (OSIPI) and the ASL MRI challenge.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
51 authors.
Chiara MaffeiAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States. Electronic address: cmaffei@mgh.harvard.edu.
Gabriel GirardUniversity Hospital Center (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland; CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Lausanne, Switzerland; Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Kurt G SchillingVanderbilt Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.
Dogu Baran AydoganA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland.
Nagesh AdluruUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.
Andrey ZhylkaBiomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands.
Ye WuDepartment of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.
Matteo ManciniCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center (CUBRIC), Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; NeuroPoly, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Andac HamamciDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Alessia SaricaNeuroscience Research Center, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Achille TeillacInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience Marc Jeannerod, CNRS / UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France; Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69100, France.
Steven H BaeteCenter for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Department of Radiology, Center for Biomedical Imaging, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States.
Davood KarimiDepartment of Radiology, Computational Radiology Laboratory, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Fang-Cheng YehDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Mert E YildizDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Ali GholipourDepartment of Radiology, Computational Radiology Laboratory, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Yann Bihan-PoudecInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience Marc Jeannerod, CNRS / UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France; Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69100, France.
Bassem HibaInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience Marc Jeannerod, CNRS / UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France; Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69100, France.
Andrea QuattroneInstitute of Neurology, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Aldo QuattroneNeuroscience Research Center, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Tommy BoshkovskiNeuroPoly, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Nikola StikovNeuroPoly, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Pew-Thian YapDepartment of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.
Alberto de LucaImage Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Neurology Department, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Josien PluimBiomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands.
Alexander LeemansImage Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Vivek PrabhakaranUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.
Barbara B BendlinUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.
Andrew L AlexanderUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.
Bennett A LandmanVanderbilt Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States; Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.
Erick J Canales-RodríguezSignal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Muhamed BarakovicDepartment of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Neurologic Clinic and Polyclinic, Basel, Switzerland.
Jonathan Rafael-PatinoSignal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Thomas YuSignal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Gaëtan RensonnetSignal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Simona SchiaviCIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Lausanne, Switzerland; University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Alessandro DaducciUniversity of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Marco PizzolatoDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Elda Fischi-GomezSignal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Jean-Philippe ThiranUniversity Hospital Center (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland; CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Lausanne, Switzerland; Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
George DaiWellesley College, Wellesley, MA, United States.
Giorgia GrisotDeepHealth, Inc., Cambridge, MA, United States.
Nikola LazovskiQMENTA, Inc., Barcelona, Spain.
Santi PuchQMENTA, Inc., Barcelona, Spain.
Marc RamosQMENTA, Inc., Barcelona, Spain.
Paulo RodriguesQMENTA, Inc., Barcelona, Spain.
Vesna PrčkovskaQMENTA, Inc., Barcelona, Spain.
Robert JonesAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States.
Julia LehmanDepartment of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, United States.
Suzanne N HaberDepartment of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, United States.
Anastasia YendikiAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States.
Funding
Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention: Sex Differences in DNA MethylationR01AG027161 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Nathaniel Ark Chin, Sterling C Johnson · 2007 to 2026
$35.6MWisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterP30AG062715 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Barbara Brigitta Bendlin · 2019 to 2026
$34.5MThe neural network of OCD, linking NHP and human studiesP50MH106435 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI STEVEN A RASMUSSEN · 2015 to 2026
$28.9MWisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterP50AG033514 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI JOHNSON, STERLING C · 2009 to 2018
$16.2MCONNECTOME 2.0: DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION HUMAN MRI SCANNER FOR BRIDGING STUDIES OF THE MICRO-, MESO- AND MACRO-CONNECTOMEU01EB026996 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI BASSER, PETER J., HUANG, SUSIE YI · 2018 to 2022
$14.2MTrainingU54AI117924 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI CRAVEN, MARK W. · 2014 to 2018
$11.3MZika virus pathophysiology during pregnancyP01AI132132 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI O'CONNOR, DAVID H. · 2018 to 2022
$10.2MContinuity of the Limbic Circuit Through the Basal GangliaR01MH045573 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI HABER, SUZANNE N · 1989 to 2024
$10.1MProject 4P41EB015896 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI ROSEN, BRUCE R · 2012 to 2018
$9.8MWaisman Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center Down Syndrome RegistryU54HD090256 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI POLLAK, SETH D · 2016 to 2020
$6.0MAlzheimer's Disease Connectome ProjectUF1AG051216 · NIA · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · PI BENDLIN, BARBARA BRIGITTA, LI, SHI-JIANG · 2016 to 2019
$5.8MWhite matter degeneration: biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer's DiseaseR01AG037639 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BENDLIN, BARBARA BRIGITTA · 2012 to 2023
$5.3MNCRR NIH HHS S10 RR019307NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR023043NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR023401NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI132132NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI138647NIAID NIH HHS U54 AI117924NIA NIH HHS P30 AG062715NIA NIH HHS P50 AG033514NIA NIH HHS R01 AG027161NIA NIH HHS R01 AG037639NIA NIH HHS R01 AG040396NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG059312NIA NIH HHS UF1 AG051216NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB015896NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB008374NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB019483NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB021265NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB022883NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB028774NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB031849NIBIB NIH HHS U01 EB026996NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD112923NICHD NIH HHS U54 HD090256NIDA NIH HHS R34 DA050258NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH106435NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH045573NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH125479NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS096056NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS092870NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS105646NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS106030NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS111022NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS117568NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS119911NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS120954NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS123378Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 213722/Z/18/Z
Abstract
Limitations in the accuracy of brain pathways reconstructed by diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography have received considerable attention. While the technical advances spearheaded by the Human Connectome Project (HCP) led to significant improvements in dMRI data quality, it remains unclear how these data should be analyzed to maximize tractography accuracy. Over a period of two years, we have engaged the dMRI community in the IronTract Challenge, which aims to answer this question by leveraging a unique dataset. Macaque brains that have received both tracer injections and ex vivo dMRI at high spatial and angular resolution allow a comprehensive, quantitative assessment of tractography accuracy on state-of-the-art dMRI acquisition schemes. We find that, when analysis methods are carefully optimized, the HCP scheme can achieve similar accuracy as a more time-consuming, Cartesian-grid scheme. Importantly, we show that simple pre- and post-processing strategies can improve the accuracy and robustness of many tractography methods. Finally, we find that fiber configurations that go beyond crossing (e.g., fanning, branching) are the most challenging for tractography. The IronTract Challenge remains open and we hope that it can serve as a valuable validation tool for both users and developers of dMRI analysis methods.
Indexed as
ConnectomeWhite MatterBrainDiffusionDiffusion Magnetic Resonance ImagingDiffusion Tensor ImagingHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedAnatomic tracingDiffusion MRITractographyValidationWhite matter anatomy
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