An integrated software suite for surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex

The authors describe and illustrate an integrated trio of software programs for carrying out surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex. The first comp onent of this trio, SureFit (Surface Reconstruction by Filtering and Intens ity Transformations), is used primarily for cortical segmentation, volume v isualization, surface generation, and the mapping of functional neuroimagin g data onto surfaces. The second component, Caret (Computerized Anatomical Reconstruction and Editing Tool Kit), provides a wide range of surface visu alization and analysis options as well as capabilities for surface flatteni ng, surface-based deformation, and other surface manipulations. The third c omponent, SuMS (Surface Management System), is a database and associated us er interface for surface-related data. It provides for efficient insertion, searching, and extraction of surface and volume data from the database.