Cerebral Cortex, 2020;00: 1–15 doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhz221 Original Article Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/cercor/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/cercor/bhz221/5652191 by guest on 10 February 2020 ORIGINAL ARTICLE The Relationship Between Axon Density, Myelination, and Fractional Anisotropy in the Human Corpus Callosum Patrick Friedrich 1,2,*, Christoph Fraenz 1, Caroline Schlüter 1, Sebastian Ocklenburg1, Burkhard Mädler 3, Onur Güntürkün1 and Erhan Genç1 1Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany 2Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory (BCBLab), Sorbonne Universities, 75013 Paris, France 3Health Systems Department, Philips GmBH, 22335 Hamburg, Germany. Address correspondence to Patrick Friedrich, Fakultät für Psychologie, Abteilung Biopsychologie, Institut für Kognitive Neurowissenschaft, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany. Email:
[email protected] Abstract The corpus callosum serves the functional integration and interaction between the two hemispheres. Many studies investigate callosal microstructure via diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fractional anisotropy (FA) in geometrically parcellated segments. However, FA is influenced by several different microstructural properties such as myelination and axon density, hindering a neurobiological interpretation. This study explores the relationship between FA and more specific measures of microstructure within the corpus callosum in a sample of 271 healthy participants. DTI tractography was used to assess 11 callosal segments and gain estimates of FA. We quantified axon density and myelination via neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to assess intra-neurite volume fraction and a multiecho gradient spin-echo sequence estimating myelin water fraction. The results indicate three common factors in the distribution of FA, myelin content and axon density, indicating potentially shared rules of topographical distribution.