The commissural fibers or transverse fibers are axons that connect the two hemispheres of the brain. Huge numbers of commissural fibers make up the commissural tracts in the brain, the largest of which is the corpus callosum.
In contrast to commissural fibers, association fibers form association tracts that connect regions within the same hemisphere of the brain, and projection fibers connect each region to other parts of the brain or to the spinal cord.
Association fibers are axons (nerve fibers) that connect cortical areas within the same cerebral hemisphere.
In human neuroanatomy, axons within the brain, can be categorized on the basis of their course and connections as association fibers, projection fibers, and commissural fibers. Bundles of fibers are known as nerve tracts, and consist of association tracts, commissural tracts, and projection tracts.
Projection fibers consist of efferent and afferent fibers uniting the cortex with the lower parts of the brain and with the spinal cord. In human neuroanatomy, bundles of axons (nerve fibers) called nerve tracts, within the brain, can be categorized by their function into association tracts, projection tracts, and commissural tracts.
In the neocortex, projection neurons are excitatory neurons that send axons to distant brain targets. Considering the six histologically distinct layers of the neocortex, associative projection neurons extend axons within one cortical hemisphere; commissural projection neurons extend axons across the midline to the contralateral hemisphere; and corticofugal projection neurons extend axons away from the cortex. That said, some neurons are multi-functional and can therefore be categorized into more than one such category.