{"doi":"10.1038/s41597-024-03197-0","title":"A large normative connectome for exploring the tractographic correlates of focal brain interventions","abstract":"Diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) is a widely used neuroimaging modality that permits the in vivo exploration of white matter connections in the human brain. Normative structural connectomics - the application of large-scale, group-derived dMRI datasets to out-of-sample cohorts - have increasingly been leveraged to study the network correlates of focal brain interventions, insults, and other regions-of-interest (ROIs). Here, we provide a normative, whole-brain connectome in MNI space that enables researchers to interrogate fiber streamlines that are likely perturbed by given ROIs, even in the absence of subject-specific dMRI data. Assembled from multi-shell dMRI data of 985 healthy Human Connectome Project subjects using generalized Q-sampling imaging and multispectral normalization techniques, this connectome comprises ~12 million unique streamlines, the largest to date. It has already been utilized in at least 18 peer-reviewed publications, most frequently in the context of neuromodulatory interventions like deep brain stimulation and focused ultrasound. Now publicly available, this connectome will constitute a useful tool for understanding the wider impact of focal brain perturbations on white matter architecture going forward.","journal":"Scientific Data","year":2024,"id":483954,"datarank":0.6448882129541118,"base_score":3.332204510175204,"endowment":3.332204510175204,"self_citation_contribution":0.49983067652628066,"citation_network_contribution":0.14505753642783112,"self_endowment_contribution":0.49983067652628066,"citer_contribution":0.14505753642783112,"corpus_percentile":69.21946313916608,"corpus_rank":3980,"citation_count":27,"citer_count":20,"citers_with_citation_signal":10,"citers_with_endowment":10,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":true,"is_dataset_confidence":0.8359,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":83.3333,"fair_percentile":98.86884744726383,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":550195,"name":"Jürgen Germann","orcid":"0000-0003-0995-8226","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1326106,"name":"Suresh E. Joel","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":232894,"name":"Ningfei Li","orcid":"0000-0003-3315-3591","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":232911,"name":"Andreas Horn","orcid":"0000-0002-0695-6025","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":232899,"name":"Alexandre Boutet","orcid":"0000-0001-6942-5195","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":232900,"name":"Andrés M. Lozano","orcid":"0000-0001-8257-3694","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":232898,"name":"Gavin J.B. Elias","orcid":"0000-0002-7495-550X","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":75,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:07:38.055693Z","pmid":"38589407","pmcid":"PMC11002007","fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":100.0,"fair_a":81.25,"fair_i":60.0,"fair_r":50.0,"fair_zscore":1.9349,"fair_rationale":{"fair_score":83.33,"has_llm":true,"taxonomy_version":"fair_taxonomy_v5","dimensions":{"F":{"name":"Findable","score":100.0,"criteria":[{"key":"f_dataset_pid","label":"Persistent identifier for the data","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6844890.v1","grounded":true,"rationale":"The dataset is identified by a DOI, a persistent identifier scheme, in the reference list. [majority verdict 'yes' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-F1-01D — FAIR Data Maturity Model: 'Data is identified by a persistent identifier' (priorit","RDA-F1-02D — FAIR Data Maturity Model: 'Data is identified by a globally unique identifier'","FsF-F1-02D — F-UJI/FAIRsFAIR: 'Data is assigned a persistent identifier'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"f_repository_named","label":"Named repository","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"FigShare","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper states that the data are freely available on FigShare, a known data repository.","anchors":["RDA-F4-01M — FAIR Data Maturity Model: metadata is offered so it can be harvested and indexed (","NIH DMS Policy Element 4 (NOT-OD-21-014) — name the repository where data will be archived","NSTC Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories (2022) — 'Long-Term Sustainability', 'Reten"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"f_data_availability_statement","label":"Data-availability statement","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"The data and scripts described in this data publication are freely available on FigShare67.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The data availability statement points to a repository record (FigShare) with a DOI, consistent with Colavizza category 3. [majority verdict 'yes' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["Colavizza, Hrynaszkiewicz, Staden, Whitaker & McGillivray (2020), 'The citation advantage of li","Springer Nature research data policy — Data Availability Statements: standard statement templat","RDA-F3-01M — metadata clearly and explicitly includes the identifier of the data it describes"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"f_discovery_metadata","label":"Description of the dataset as an object","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"Data Records","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper has a dedicated 'Data Records' section that itemises the files and variables in the dataset. [majority verdict 'yes' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-F2-01M — 'Rich metadata is provided to allow discovery' (priority Essential)","FsF-F2-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes descriptive core elements to support data findability'","FsF-R1-01MD — F-UJI: 'Metadata specifies the content of the data'"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"f_dataset_cited","label":"Dataset formally cited","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"Elias, G. J. B. et al. A large normative connectome for exploring the tractographic correlates of focal brain interventions. Figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6844890.v1(2024).","grounded":true,"rationale":"The dataset's DOI appears as a reference list entry, satisfying the citation criterion. [majority verdict 'yes' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["FORCE11 Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (2014) — data should be cited as a first-","RDA-F3-01M — metadata clearly and explicitly includes the identifier of the data it describes","FsF-F3-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes the identifier of the data it describes'"],"scored":true,"signal":null}]},"A":{"name":"Accessible","score":81.25,"criteria":[{"key":"a_data_openly_accessible","label":"Access route free of preconditions","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"The data and scripts described in this data publication are freely available on FigShare67.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The data are stated to be freely available on FigShare with no precondition.","anchors":["RDA-A1.1-01D — 'Data is accessible through a free access protocol'","FsF-A1-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata contains access level and access conditions of the data'","NSTC Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories (2022) — 'Free and Easy Access'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"a_access_conditions_stated","label":"Access level labelled","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"freely available","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper labels the data as 'freely available', which is a natural-language equivalent of open access.","anchors":["FsF-A1-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata contains access level and access conditions of the data'","RDA-A1-01M — metadata contains information to enable the user to get access to the data","COAR Controlled Vocabularies — Access Rights v1.0 (open / embargoed / restricted / metadata-onl"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"a_controlled_access_for_sensitive","label":"Gatekeeper for sensitive data","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"The data are openly available and no gatekeeper is mentioned; the data are not sensitive for the purpose of this criterion.","anchors":["NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy (NOT-OD-14-124) — controlled-access via a Data Access Committee","RDA-A1.2-01D — 'Data is accessible through an access protocol that supports authentication and ","NIH DMS Policy Element 5 (NOT-OD-21-014) — Access, Distribution, or Reuse Considerations (conse"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"a_timeline_retention","label":"Availability timing & retention","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.5,"verdict":"partial","evidence":"Now publicly available, this connectome will constitute a useful tool for understanding the wider impact of focal brain perturbations on white matter architecture going forward.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper states that the data are now publicly available but does not specify a retention period or permanent archival commitment. [majority verdict 'partial' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["NIH DMS Plan Element 4 (NOT-OD-21-014) — Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines","NSTC Desirable Characteristics (2022), Organizational Infrastructure: 'Retention Policy'","RDA-A2-01M — 'Metadata is guaranteed to remain available after data is no longer available'"],"scored":false,"signal":null}]},"I":{"name":"Interoperable","score":60.0,"criteria":[{"key":"i_open_nonproprietary_format","label":"Open file format","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"a whole-brain tractogram file comprising 11,820,000 streamlines (\"dTOR_full_tractogram.trk\")","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper mentions the .trk format, which is an open standard for tractography data, and also .nii.gz (NIfTI). [majority verdict 'yes' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["FsF-R1.3-02D — F-UJI: 'Data is available in a file format recommended by the target research co","RDA-R1.3-02D — data is expressed in a machine-understandable community standard","RDA-I1-01D — data uses a knowledge representation expressed in a standardised format"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"i_community_standard_vocabulary","label":"Community standard / vocabulary","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No data or metadata community standard (e.g., MIAME, ISA-Tab, ontology) is named in the paper. [majority verdict 'no' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-R1.3-01M — 'Metadata complies with a community standard' (priority Essential)","RDA-R1.3-01D — 'Data complies with a community standard'","RDA-I2-01M — '(Meta)data use vocabularies that follow FAIR principles'"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"i_qualified_references","label":"Identifiers for the resources the data depend on","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"https://www.humanconnectome.org/study/hcp-young-adult/document/1200-subjects-data-release","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper provides a URL to the HCP data repository, which identifies the source data used to construct the connectome. [majority verdict 'yes' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-I3-01M — '(meta)data include references to other (meta)data'","RDA-I3-03M — 'metadata includes qualified references to other metadata'","FsF-I3-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes links between the data and its related entities'"],"scored":false,"signal":null}]},"R":{"name":"Reusable","score":50.0,"criteria":[{"key":"r_reuse_license","label":"Reuse licence","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No licence is explicitly stated for the data in the paper; the article's CC BY licence applies to the article, not the data.","anchors":["RDA-R1.1-01M — 'Metadata includes information about the licence under which the data can be reu","RDA-R1.1-02M — 'Metadata refers to a standard reuse licence'","RDA-R1.1-03M — 'Metadata refers to a machine-understandable reuse licence'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"r_provenance_methods","label":"Provenance of the data","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"Fiber tracking was performed in the native (i.e., non-normalized) subject dMRI space using generalized Q-sampling imaging (GQI, a model-free deterministic tractography method) as implemented in DSI Studio","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper names specific tools and methods (DSI Studio, GQI) used to produce the data. [majority verdict 'yes' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-R1.2-01M — 'Metadata includes provenance information according to community- specific standa","FsF-R1.2-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes provenance information about data creation or generati","W3C PROV-O (W3C Recommendation, 2013) — the entity/activity/agent model of provenance"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"r_documentation_codebook","label":"Documentation / codebook","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":"First, the complete connectome itself is provided in the form of a matlab-readable file ('dTOR_985.mat'). A version of the full connectome that can be directly viewed and manipulated using streamline viewing/editing programs like MI-Brain... i.e., a whole-brain tractogram file comprising 11,820,000 streamlines (\"dTOR_full_tractogram.trk\") – is provided as well. Three voxel-resampled connectome files are also supplied...","grounded":false,"rationale":"The definitions of the data files are provided inside the article in the Data Records section, but no separate documentation object (e.g., README) is stated to accompany the data. [downgraded to 'no' — no verifiable quote from the paper] [majority verdict 'no' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-R1-01M — '(Meta)data are richly described with a plurality of accurate and relevant attribu","FsF-R1-01MD — F-UJI: 'Metadata specifies the content of the data'","NIH DMS Policy Element 3 (NOT-OD-21-014) — Standards (documentation and metadata to accompany t"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"r_versioning","label":"Snapshot identified","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6844890.v1","grounded":true,"rationale":"The DOI includes a version suffix (.v1), indicating a specific snapshot of the data. [majority verdict 'yes' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["DataCite Metadata Schema 4.6 — the 'Version' property","RDA-R1.2-01M — provenance information (which version was used is provenance)","NSTC Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories (2022) — 'Provenance', 'Retention Policy'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"x_code_availability","label":"Analysis code available","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"https://github.com/Germann-lab/dTOR-985-Connectome.git","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper provides a GitHub repository URL for the scripts, which is a machine-resolvable locator.","anchors":["NIH DMS Policy Element 2 (NOT-OD-21-014) — 'Related Tools, Software and/or Code'","FAIR4RS Principles v1.0 (Chue Hong et al., 2022; RDA/FORCE11/ReSA) — FAIR Principles for Resear","FORCE11 Software Citation Principles (Smith, Katz & Niemeyer, 2016, PeerJ CS 2:e86)"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"x_funding_attribution","label":"Funder and award number","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"This study was supported by the RR Tasker Chair in Functional Neurosurgery at University Health Network (A.M.L.), a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience (A.M.L.), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CGS-D reference # 164235: G.J.B.E., Banting fellowship reference # 471913: J.G.).","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper lists specific grant numbers (e.g., CGS-D #164235, Banting #471913) attached to funders.","anchors":["DataCite Metadata Schema 4.6 — 'FundingReference' property (funderName, funderIdentifier, award","Crossref Funder Registry — canonical funder identifiers for funding metadata","RDA-F2-01M — rich metadata provided to allow discovery (funding is part of the descriptive reco"],"scored":true,"signal":null}]}},"actions":[{"key":"r_reuse_license","dimension":"R","label":"Reuse licence","action":"Attach a standard, machine-readable open licence to the deposit — CC0 or CC BY, which is what Horizon Europe and most funders expect — and print the licence identifier in the paper. 'Free to use' is not a licence: it grants nothing a reuser's institution can rely on.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No licence is explicitly stated for the data in the paper; the article's CC BY licence applies to the article, not the data.","gain":16.67,"priority":"essential","scored":true},{"key":"i_community_standard_vocabulary","dimension":"I","label":"Community standard / vocabulary","action":"Adopt and NAME your domain's data standard — the minimum-information checklist, metadata schema, or ontology your community uses (MIAME/MINSEQE, ISA-Tab, BIDS, an OBO ontology, HL7 FHIR/OMOP) — and say which one you followed. A reporting checklist standardises your paper; it does nothing for your data. In neuroimaging, describe the data with BIDS, NIfTI or DICOM.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No data or metadata community standard (e.g., MIAME, ISA-Tab, ontology) is named in the paper. [majority verdict 'no' (4/5 passes agreed)]","gain":0.0,"priority":"important","scored":false},{"key":"r_documentation_codebook","dimension":"R","label":"Documentation / codebook","action":"Ship a README and a data dictionary IN the deposit — every file, every variable, its units, its allowed values, its missing-value codes. It is the cheapest single thing that makes a dataset usable by someone who was not in the lab, and a table buried in the article does not travel with the data.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":"First, the complete connectome itself is provided in the form of a matlab-readable file ('dTOR_985.mat'). A version of the full connectome that can be directly viewed and manipulated using streamline viewing/editing programs like MI-Brain... i.e., a whole-brain tractogram file comprising 11,820,000 streamlines (\"dTOR_full_tractogram.trk\") – is provided as well. Three voxel-resampled connectome files are also supplied...","why":"The definitions of the data files are provided inside the article in the Data Records section, but no separate documentation object (e.g., README) is stated to accompany the data. [downgraded to 'no' — no verifiable quote from the paper] [majority verdict 'no' (3/5 passes agreed)]","gain":0.0,"priority":"important","scored":false},{"key":"a_controlled_access_for_sensitive","dimension":"A","label":"Gatekeeper for sensitive data","action":"Route sensitive data through an institutional gatekeeper — deposit in a controlled- access repository (dbGaP, EGA) with a Data Access Committee and a published DUA — rather than through the corresponding author's inbox. An author-gated dataset dies with the author's email address, and 'on reasonable request' has been shown repeatedly not to yield data.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"The data are openly available and no gatekeeper is mentioned; the data are not sensitive for the purpose of this criterion.","gain":0.0,"priority":"useful","scored":false},{"key":"a_timeline_retention","dimension":"A","label":"Availability timing & retention","action":"State when the data become available AND how long they will be retained — cite the repository's preservation policy. NIH DMS Element 4 asks for both; most papers give neither.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"partial","current":0.5,"evidence":"Now publicly available, this connectome will constitute a useful tool for understanding the wider impact of focal brain perturbations on white matter architecture going forward.","why":"The paper states that the data are now publicly available but does not specify a retention period or permanent archival commitment. [majority verdict 'partial' (4/5 passes agreed)]","gain":0.0,"priority":"useful","scored":false}],"suggestions":["Attach a standard, machine-readable open licence to the deposit — CC0 or CC BY, which is what Horizon Europe and most funders expect — and print the licence identifier in the paper. 'Free to use' is not a licence: it grants nothing a reuser's institution can rely on.","Adopt and NAME your domain's data standard — the minimum-information checklist, metadata schema, or ontology your community uses (MIAME/MINSEQE, ISA-Tab, BIDS, an OBO ontology, HL7 FHIR/OMOP) — and say which one you followed. A reporting checklist standardises your paper; it does nothing for your data. In neuroimaging, describe the data with BIDS, NIfTI or DICOM.","Ship a README and a data dictionary IN the deposit — every file, every variable, its units, its allowed values, its missing-value codes. It is the cheapest single thing that makes a dataset usable by someone who was not in the lab, and a table buried in the article does not travel with the data.","Route sensitive data through an institutional gatekeeper — deposit in a controlled- access repository (dbGaP, EGA) with a Data Access Committee and a published DUA — rather than through the corresponding author's inbox. An author-gated dataset dies with the author's email address, and 'on reasonable request' has been shown repeatedly not to yield data.","State when the data become available AND how long they will be retained — cite the repository's preservation policy. NIH DMS Element 4 asks for both; most papers give neither."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash","agent_version":"fair_agent_v8","fulltext_source":"unpaywall_pdf"},"fair_model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash","fair_agent_version":"fair_agent_v8","fair_fulltext_source":"unpaywall_pdf","fair_has_llm":true,"fair_computed_at":"2026-07-20T11:40:27.537248Z","clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}