Mapping Human Cortical Microstructure In Vivo with Diffusion MRI

Motivation: Diffusion MRI has revolutionized our understanding of white matter, but exploration of regional gray matter microstructure throughout the living human brain has lagged far behind. Goal(s): To map the microstructure of human cerebral cortex with diffusion MRI. Approach: We present neuromaps derived from diffusion tensor, diffusion kurtosis, mean apparent propagator, and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging of the young adult cerebral cortex. Results: Cortical microstructure follows cytoarchitectural and laminar differentiation, aligns with the sensory-fugal and sensorimotor-association axes, and contributes to functional brain networks, neural oscillatory dynamics, neurotransmitter distributions, and cognition/behavior. Impact: We integrate diffusion MRI gray matter microstructure into the neuromaps framework, which includes molecular, cellular, laminar, dynamic, and functional annotations. We also provide four latent factors that govern cortical microstructural metrics derived using diffusion MRI.