Association tract

Association fiber
Diagram showing principal systems of association fibers in the cerebrum.
Dissection of cerebral cortex and brainstem showing association fibers and insular cortex after removal of its superficial grey matter
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Fibrae associationis telencephali
Dorlands /Elsevier	f_05/
TA	A14.1.00.016 A14.1.09.553
FMA	75241
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

Association fibers are axons that connect cortical areas within the same cerebral hemisphere.

In human neuroanatomy, axons within the brain, called fibers, can be categorized on the basis of their course and connection into association fibers, projection fibers, and commissural fibers.

The association fibers unite different parts of the same cerebral hemisphere, and are of two kinds: (1) those connecting adjacent gyri, short association fibers; (2) those passing between more distant parts, long association fibers.

Many of the short association fibers (also called arcuate or "U"-fibers) lie immediately beneath the gray substance of the cortex of the hemispheres, and connect together adjacent gyri. Some pass from one wall of the sulcus to the other.

The long association fibers connect the more widely separated gyri and are grouped into bundles. They include the following:

Diffusion tensor imaging is a non-invasive method to study the course of association fibers.