Structural covariance of the neostriatum with regional gray matter volumes

Abstract

The caudate and putamen nuclei have been traditionally divided into dorsal and ventral territories based on their segregated patterns of functional and anatomical connectivity with distributed cortical regions. Activity-dependent structural plasticity may potentially lead to the development of regional volume correlations, or structural covariance, between the different components of each cortico-striatal circuit. Here, we studied the whole-brain structural covariance patterns of four neostriatal regions belonging to distinct cortico-striatal circuits. We also assessed the potential modulating influence of laterality, age and gender. T1-weighted three-dimensional magnetic resonance images we..