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The neuronal fiber tracts are the principal substrate for the propagation of neuronal signaling in the brain, and a previous study [Conner et al., 2011¹] showed that the number of fibers connecting the stimulation and the recording locations are positively correlated with the amplitude of the stimulation-evoked responses. In a previous study, we developed and validated a method to map the effective connectivity over the anatomical information about white matter tracts [Donos et al., 2016a²], obtained from a structural connectome derived from a DSI atlas, in a small patient population.

This proposal's specific objective is to build a whole-brain structural-effective connectome , by combining the effective connectome (exclusive of the epileptogenic areas) with the structural connectome. The results will be delivered as a whole-brain atlas that presents side-by-side the effective and the structural connectomes, as well as the resulting structural-effective connectome. This atlas will be the first one to integrate both anatomical and causal relation of the brain structures , and will be made available online , with open access . For this objective, we will analyze a cohort of at least 60 patients (30 retrospective and at least 30 prospective patients).

This type whole-brain physiological structural-effective connectome, despite being based on two widely used methods in neuroscience (DTI/DSI and electrical stimulation), has never been computed before. Such an atlas of the human brain will fill in existing gaps in brain connectomics. Our project's objectives are in line with the ones of the Brain Initiative and the Human Connectome Project and they are compatible with the worldwide efforts in understanding the different types and scales of the human brain connectivity.

1. Conner CR, Ellmore TM, DiSano MA, Pieters TA, Potter AW, Tandon N (2011): Anatomic and electro-physiologic connectivity of the language system: A combined DTI-CCEP study. Comput Biol Med 41:1100–1109.

2. Donos C, Mălîia MD, Mîndruţă I, Popa I, Ene M, Bălănescu B, Ciurea A, Barborica A (2016a): A connectomics approach combining structural and effective connectivity assessed by intracranial electrical stimulation. Neuroimage 132:344–358.