Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40213097›Full record

ArticleNpj imaging2025

Three-dimensional fiber orientation mapping of ex vivo human brain at micrometer resolution.

Chao J Liu, William Ammon, Robert J Jones, Jackson C Nolan, Dayang Gong, Chiara Maffei, Nathan Blanke, Brian L Edlow, Jean C Augustinack, Caroline Magnain and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Npj imaging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The modular nature of long-association pathways in the human brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Chao J Liu *Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
William Ammon *Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Robert J JonesAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Jackson C NolanAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Dayang GongAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Chiara MaffeiAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Nathan BlankeAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Brian L EdlowAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Jean C AugustinackAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Caroline MagnainAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Anastasia YendikiAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Martin VilligerWellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 USA.
Bruce FischlAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
Hui WangAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.

Funding

TRD3: Percutaneous and Interstitial ImagingP41EB015903 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Benjamin James Vakoc · 2012 to 2026
$22.4M
BRAIN CONNECTS: The center for Large-scale Imaging of Neural Circuits (LINC)UM1NS132358 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Suzanne N Haber, Elizabeth M. C. Hillman · 2023 to 2026
$17.5M
Training and Dissemination CoreP41EB030006 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Susie Yi Huang · 2020 to 2026
$10.9M
FreeSurfer Development, Maintenance, and HardeningR01EB023281 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Bruce Fischl, Douglas Nowlin Greve · 2016 to 2026
$5.6M
BRAIN CONNECTS: Mapping Connectivity of the Human Brainstem in a Nuclear Coordinate SystemU01NS132181 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI FISCHL, BRUCE, HOF, PATRICK R · 2023 to 2025
$4.2M
Novel Volumetric Optical Microscopy to Unravel Cerebral Microvascular Architecture and the Role in Functional Neuroimaging in Human Alzheimer's DiseaseR01NS128843 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Hui Wang · 2022 to 2026
$3.8M
A Connectome-Based Clinical Trial Platform to Promote Early Recovery of Consciousness after Traumatic ComaDP2HD101400 · NICHD · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI EDLOW, BRIAN L. · 2019 to 2019
$2.5M
Volumetric optical connectome microscopy of human cerebellar circuitryR00EB023993 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI WANG, HUI · 2020 to 2022
$747k
Automatic segmentation of the infant brainstem using optical coherence tomographyR21NS106695 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI MAGNAIN, CAROLINE · 2019 to 2019
$480k
NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB015903NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB030006NIBIB NIH HHS R00 EB023993NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB023281NICHD NIH HHS DP2 HD101400NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS128843NINDS NIH HHS R21 NS106695NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS132181NINDS NIH HHS UM1 NS132358
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The accurate measurement of three-dimensional (3D) fiber orientation in the brain is crucial for reconstructing fiber pathways and studying their involvement in neurological diseases. Comprehensive reconstruction of axonal tracts and small fascicles requires high-resolution technology beyond the ability of current in vivo imaging (e.g., diffusion magnetic resonance imaging). Optical imaging methods such as polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) can quantify fiber orientation at micrometer resolution but have been limited to two-dimensional in-plane orientation, preventing the comprehensive study of connectivity in 3D. In this work we present a novel method to quantify volumetric 3D orientation in full angular space with PS-OCT in postmortem human brain tissues. We measure the polarization contrasts of the brain sample from two illumination angles of 0 and 15° and apply a computational method that yields the 3D optic axis orientation and true birefringence. We further present 3D fiber orientation maps of entire coronal cerebrum sections and brainstem with 10 μm in-plane resolution, revealing unprecedented details of fiber configurations. We envision that our method will open a promising avenue towards large-scale 3D fiber axis mapping in the human brain as well as other complex fibrous tissues at microscopic level.

Indexed as

Brain imagingInterference microscopyOptical imaging

Identifiers

PMID40213097
PMCPMC11978517

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.