Functional Architecture of the Human Hypothalamus: Cortical Coupling and Subregional Organization Using 7-Tesla fMRI

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lee, Kent M., Rodriguez, Joshua, Hartley, Ludger, Kragel, Philip A., Chanes, Lorena, Wager, Tor D., Quigley, Karen S., Wald, Lawrence L., Bianciardi, Marta, Barrett, Lisa Feldman, Theriault, Jordan E., Satpute, Ajay B.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866918105184206848
author Lee, Kent M.
Rodriguez, Joshua
Hartley, Ludger
Kragel, Philip A.
Chanes, Lorena
Wager, Tor D.
Quigley, Karen S.
Wald, Lawrence L.
Bianciardi, Marta
Barrett, Lisa Feldman
Theriault, Jordan E.
Satpute, Ajay B.
author_facet Lee, Kent M.
Rodriguez, Joshua
Hartley, Ludger
Kragel, Philip A.
Chanes, Lorena
Wager, Tor D.
Quigley, Karen S.
Wald, Lawrence L.
Bianciardi, Marta
Barrett, Lisa Feldman
Theriault, Jordan E.
Satpute, Ajay B.
contents The hypothalamus plays an important role in the regulation of the bodys metabolic state and behaviors related to survival. Despite its importance however, many questions exist regarding the intrinsic and extrinsic connections of the hypothalamus in humans, especially its relationship with the cortex. As a heterogeneous structure, it is possible that the hypothalamus is composed of different subregions, which have their own distinct relationships with the cortex. Previous work on functional connectivity in the human hypothalamus have either treated it as a unitary structure or relied on methodological approaches that are limited in modeling its intrinsic functional architecture. Here, we used resting state data from ultrahigh field 7 Tesla fMRI and a data driven analytical approach to identify functional subregions of the human hypothalamus. Our approach identified four functional hypothalamic subregions based on intrinsic functional connectivity, which in turn showed distinct patterns of functional connectivity with cortex. Overall, all hypothalamic subregions showed stronger connectivity with a cortical network, Cortical Network 1 composed primarily of frontal, midline, and limbic cortical areas and weaker connectivity with a second cortical network composed largely of posterior sensorimotor regions, Cortical Network 2. Of the hypothalamic subregions, the anterior hypothalamus showed the strongest connection to Cortical Network 1, while a more ventral subregion containing the anterior hypothalamus extending to the tuberal region showed the weakest connectivity. The findings support the use of ultrahigh field, high resolution imaging in providing a more incisive investigation of the human hypothalamus that respects its complex internal structure and extrinsic functional architecture.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_06191
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Functional Architecture of the Human Hypothalamus: Cortical Coupling and Subregional Organization Using 7-Tesla fMRI
Lee, Kent M.
Rodriguez, Joshua
Hartley, Ludger
Kragel, Philip A.
Chanes, Lorena
Wager, Tor D.
Quigley, Karen S.
Wald, Lawrence L.
Bianciardi, Marta
Barrett, Lisa Feldman
Theriault, Jordan E.
Satpute, Ajay B.
Neurons and Cognition
Quantitative Methods
The hypothalamus plays an important role in the regulation of the bodys metabolic state and behaviors related to survival. Despite its importance however, many questions exist regarding the intrinsic and extrinsic connections of the hypothalamus in humans, especially its relationship with the cortex. As a heterogeneous structure, it is possible that the hypothalamus is composed of different subregions, which have their own distinct relationships with the cortex. Previous work on functional connectivity in the human hypothalamus have either treated it as a unitary structure or relied on methodological approaches that are limited in modeling its intrinsic functional architecture. Here, we used resting state data from ultrahigh field 7 Tesla fMRI and a data driven analytical approach to identify functional subregions of the human hypothalamus. Our approach identified four functional hypothalamic subregions based on intrinsic functional connectivity, which in turn showed distinct patterns of functional connectivity with cortex. Overall, all hypothalamic subregions showed stronger connectivity with a cortical network, Cortical Network 1 composed primarily of frontal, midline, and limbic cortical areas and weaker connectivity with a second cortical network composed largely of posterior sensorimotor regions, Cortical Network 2. Of the hypothalamic subregions, the anterior hypothalamus showed the strongest connection to Cortical Network 1, while a more ventral subregion containing the anterior hypothalamus extending to the tuberal region showed the weakest connectivity. The findings support the use of ultrahigh field, high resolution imaging in providing a more incisive investigation of the human hypothalamus that respects its complex internal structure and extrinsic functional architecture.
title Functional Architecture of the Human Hypothalamus: Cortical Coupling and Subregional Organization Using 7-Tesla fMRI
topic Neurons and Cognition
Quantitative Methods
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.06191