Résumé
Although the subcortical pathways have received little attention within a localizationist and rigid model of human brain, the development of connectomics (i.e., the map of neural connections) has contributed to the proposal of an alternative hodotopical account in which cerebral functions are subserved by the dynamic interactions of large-scale distributed and parallel subnetworks. Here, based on recent insights provided by both anatomic studies (dissection/diffusion tensor imaging) and electrostimulation mapping investigations, structural–functional correlations at the level of the white matter circuitry (projection and long-distance association fibers) are performed. Understanding the axonal connectivity is crucial to optimize the models of cognition (movement, language, executive functions, behavior, and even consciousness), which should integrate the anatomic constraint represented by the subcortical tracts. In addition, cerebral plasticity seems to be possible only on the condition that the white matter fibers are preserved to allow communication and temporal synchronization among large interconnected networks.