Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41993250›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

Structure-function coupling in the human brainstem.

Asa Farahani, Subhranil Koley, Justine Y Hansen, María Guadalupe García-Gomar, Kavita Singh, Simone Cauzzo, Firdaus Fabrice Hannanu, Filip Milisav, Zhen-Qi Liu, Vincent Bazinet and 2 more

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Asa FarahaniMontréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.ORCID 0009-0001-9905-8813
Subhranil KoleyBrainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8735-5231
Justine Y HansenChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3142-7480
María Guadalupe García-GomarBrainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5633-3419
Kavita SinghDepartment of Radiology and Bioengineering, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Simone CauzzoBrainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9237-5269
Firdaus Fabrice HannanuBrainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2391-7754
Filip MilisavMontréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4685-3247
Zhen-Qi LiuMontréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0917-7905
Vincent BazinetMontréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6693-9641
Marta BianciardiBrainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9606-6853
Bratislav MisicMontréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0307-2862

Funding

Brainstem-based imaging biomarkers of premanifest synucleinopathyR01AG063982 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI BIANCIARDI, MARTA · 2020 to 2024
$3.6M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG063982
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The nuclei of the brainstem fundamentally modulate neuronal activity throughout the central nervous system. Yet connectome reconstructions typically do not include the brainstem because it is notoriously difficult to image. As a result, the influence of the brainstem on structure-function coupling in the brain is unknown. Here we use high-resolution 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to reconstruct structural and functional brain connectomes encompassing cortex and 58 brainstem nuclei spanning the midbrain, pons, and medulla. We identify structural connectional profiles of individual brainstem nuclei to the cortex and find that they align with a spectrum of functions, spanning sensory and motor processing to higher-order cognition. Structural and functional connectivity in brainstem-augmented connectomes are positively correlated, and pairs of regions with direct anatomical projections display greater functional connectivity than pairs without. Structure-function coupling is heterogeneous across brainstem nuclei, with greatest coupling in both modulatory and relay nuclei. Collectively, this work presents an initial step towards understanding how the brainstem shapes structure-function relationships in the brain.

Identifiers

PMID41993250
PMCPMC13081928

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Registered trials

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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.