Multimodal connectivity-based parcellation reveals a shell-core dichotomy of the human nucleus accumbens

However, in vivo parcellation of these structures in humans has been rare, potentially impairing future research into the structural and functional characteristics and alterations of putative NAc subregions.

Here, we used three complementary parcellation schemes based on tractography, task-independent functional connectivity, and task-dependent co-activation to investigate the regional differentiation within the NAc. We found that a 2-cluster solution with shell-like and core-like subdivisions provided the best description of the data and was consistent with the earlier anatomical shell/core architecture. The consensus clusters from this optimal solution, which was based on the three schemes, were used as the final parcels for the subsequent connection analyses.