Uncovering a tripartite landmark in posterior cingulate cortex.

Willbrand, Ethan H; Parker, Benjamin J; Voorhies, Willa I; Miller, Jacob A; Lyu, Ilwoo; Hallock, Tyler; Aponik-Gremillion, Lyndsey; Koslov, Seth R et al. · Sci Adv · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Understanding brain structure-function relationships, and their development and evolution, is central to neuroscience research. Here, we show that morphological differences in posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a hub of functional brain networks, predict individual differences in macroanatomical, microstructural, and functional features of PCC. Manually labeling 4511 sulci in 572 hemispheres, we found a shallow cortical indentation (termed the inframarginal sulcus; <i>ifrms</i>) within PCC that is absent from neuroanatomical atlases yet colocalized with a focal, functional region of the lateral frontoparietal network implicated in cognitive control. This structural-functional coupling generalized to meta-analyses consisting of hundreds of studies and thousands of participants. Additional morphological analyses showed that unique properties of the <i>ifrms</i> differ across the life span and between hominoid species. These findings support a classic theory that shallow, tertiary sulci serve as landmarks in association cortices. They also beg the question: How many other cortical indentations have we missed?