Occipitotemporal White Matter: Redefining Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus Components

The brain’s network of white matter tracts provides the structural foundation for all cognitive, sensory, and motor functions by connecting cortical regions into integrated systems [1]. While neuroimaging techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have improved in vivo visualization of these pathways, significant anatomical controversies persist for key bundles [2, 3]. A primary example is the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), a major occipitotemporal tract understood to be critical for higher-order visual processing and object recognition, whose precise boundaries and subcomponents remain debated [4, 5]. Distinguishing individual tracts within complex intersection zones is a persistent challenge [6, 7]. For clinicians, a refined anatomical map is essential, as damage to these pathways from stroke, trauma, tumors, or surgical intervention can result in profound and specific neurological deficits [8, 9].