Laura Mancini1,2, Neven Moustafa Hazzaa1,2, Mario Miranda1,2, John S. Thornton1,2, Tarek Yousry1,2
1Lysholm Dept. of Neuro-radiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK, UK; 2Academic Neuroradiological Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College of London, London, UK, UK
This combined DTI/fMRI study investigated the organization of the hands, feet, lips and tongue motor tracts in the brain. A probabilistic tractography approach with a 2-tensor model was used. Our results support the hypothesis of a somatotopic organization of the motor tracts, with the lips and tongue components anterior at the level of the cella media (CM) and internal capsule (IC), and medial at the level of the cerebral peduncle (CP); and the feet tracts posterior at the CM and IC and lateral at the CP. The vicinity of tumours to the tracts predominantly caused their overall displacement without affecting their relative anatomical organization.