The extended frontal aslant tract (exFAT) is a tractography-based extension of the frontal aslant tract (FAT) which has been shown to be related with language and working memory performance in healthy human adults, but whether those functional implications map to structurally separate regions along its trajectory is still an open question. We present a tractography-informed Voxel-Based Morphometry procedure capable of detecting local tract-specific structural differences in white matter regions and apply it in two maximum variation sampling studies by comparing local differences in diffusion-derived microstructural parameters and fiber density along the exFAT territory between top performers and bottom performers in language and working memory tasks. In the right hemisphere we were able to detect, without prior constraints, a vertical frontal aslant component approximating the original FAT trajectory whose fiber density was significantly correlated with language (but not working memory) performance and an anterior cluster component corresponding to a distinct anterior frontal aslant component whose fiber density was significantly correlated with working memory (but not language) performance. The reported sub-division of the exFAT territory describes a set of frontal connections that are compatible with previously reported results on the Broca’s territory and frontal cortex hierarchical organization along an anterior-posterior gradient, suggesting that the exFAT could be part of a common neuroanatomical scaffold where language and working memory functions are integrated in the healthy human brain.

扩展的额叶斜道（exFAT）是额叶斜道（FAT）的基于影像学的扩展，已显示与健康成年人的语言和工作记忆性能有关，但是这些功能含义是否映射到结构上分离的区域沿着它的轨迹仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。我们提出了一种基于影像学的基于体素的形态计量学方法，该方法能够检测白质区域中局部区域特定的结构差异，并将其应用于两个最大变化抽样研究中，方法是比较沿扩散扩散区的扩散衍生的微结构参数和纤维密度的局部差异在语言和工作记忆任务上表现最好的人和表现最差的人之间。在右半球，我们能够在没有事先限制的情况下检测到 垂直于原始FAT轨迹的额叶垂直倾斜成分，其纤维密度与语言（而不是工作记忆）的表现显着相关;前集群成分对应于明显的前额叶倾斜成分，其纤维密度与工作记忆显着相关（但不相关）语言）的效果。报告的exFAT区域细分描述了一组额叶连接，这些连接与先前报道的Broca区域和额叶皮质沿前-后梯度的组织结构的结果兼容，这表明exFAT可能是常见神经解剖学支架的一部分语言和工作记忆功能已整合到健康的人脑中。