Atlas of Brain Function

Novel techniques and technological advances have contributed to the rapid expansion of our understanding of the functional inner workings of the brain. Structure–function relationships complement the anatomic and pathologic information classically obtained through neuroimaging. As the clinical utility of functional neuroimaging of the brain continues to increase at a significant rate, the need for high-quality reference texts of our expanding knowledge becomes more apparent.

The second edition of the Atlas of Brain Function provides high-resolution 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) images to accompany the labeled anatomic illustrations. A new section includes color-rendered three-dimensional fiber-tracking reconstructions acquired from diffusion tensor imaging sequences.

The text is divided into six sections. The first section is a glossary providing detail regarding the anatomy and function of >300 brain and other intracranial structures. The next three sections include labeled anatomic illustrations and correlative 3-T MR images of the brain obtained in the sagittal, axial, and coronal planes. The MR images are of high resolution but small in size. The fifth section provides color-encoded three-dimensional fiber-tracking images based on diffusion tensor imaging sequences. Additionally, functional MR images demonstrate the auditory, visual, motor, and olfactory cortexes. The final section provides three-dimensional MR imaging views of the brain and related anatomic illustrations from the lateral, medial, basal, and axial views.

This book would be useful as a reference resource in any neuroradiology reading room, providing a concise resource about brain structure and function. It can be helpful to fellows and neuroradiologists, not only as a resource for dedicated functional neuroimaging but also in correlating specific brain lesions seen on routine imaging studies with reported or expected clinical deficits. Neurosurgeons and neurologists might also benefit from having this resource at their disposal. Radiology residents would probably be better served by first concentrating on learning the underlying anatomy, using a dedicated imaging atlas with images that are larger and directly labeled. The specific MR imaging correlation is too advanced for the needs of most medical students.

The strengths of this book include its alphabetized glossary of structures and definitions, which provides a concise synopsis of the functions of hundreds of intracranial structures, and its labeled multiplanar anatomic illustrations and correlative MR images, which allow the easy identification of specific anatomic structures and cross-reference with the glossary. The color-rendered three-dimensional fiber-tracking images are aesthetically pleasing and provide easy identification of the location and directionality of the major white matter tracks.

The major weakness of this book relates to its layout. The glossary in the first section provides a concise review for a comprehensive list of intracranial structures, yet the glossary entries are repeated after each MR imaging view of the brain for which a particular structure is included. Given the ease with which the initial glossary section can be referenced, a list of labeled structures following each illustration would suffice. It would be preferable that the key to the labeled illustrations be displayed on the page opposite the illustration for easy reference, as opposed to stretching on for multiple pages. For a book designed to serve as an atlas, the MR images are smaller than desired.

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Atlas of Brain Function

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Further Reading

Breast Mass Segmentation in Mammography Using Plane Fitting and Dynamic Programming

Computed Radiography-based Mammography with 50-μm Pixel Size

Diffusion Tensor Tractography in the Head-and-Neck Reg ion Using a Clinical 3-T MR Scanner