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This was a extremely helpful source that explained the differences of the three cortical fibers. Though I knew about the roles that white fibers fulfilled, it was clarifying to read this source on the differences among the specific fibers. The commissural fibers connect the two hemispheres of the brain. Association fibers connect different gyri together. Since gyri gyrate in an up and down fashion, the association fibers create a U-shape, so they are sometimes called U-fibers. Projection fibers connect the cortex to the lower brain and brainstem. This article was extremely helpful, as parts of the basal ganglia and limbic systems had been confusing me. In particular the corpus callosum and fornix in these systems had been confusing me as to what they did. This source explained that they just bus the information, and do not have a complicated internal structure, like many of the nuclei in that region. This really helped me understand these two systems, and the roles that each component plays within them.

This article cleared up the confusion I had revolving around subcortical fibers. I was unclear on where the white matter was in the brain, what it did, and other information about it. This PDF answered my questions by explaining the roles of the white matter in the brain. It explains that the white matter is right under the gray matter of the cortices of the brain, and transfers information to and from the cortex, to other parts of the brain. It also explains the proportion of the different white matter fibers to each other, which play different roles. The long fibers that go across the brain are long, but there are not as many of them. The shorter fibers that connect closer distances are much shorter, but there are many more of them. This source was used in my brain portfolio, and gave me a generally clearer understanding of the structure that is directly below the cortex.