Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:Similar to previous studies (Little et al. 2009; Schiff et al. 2011; Shinmyo et al. 2015), we
visualized and analyzed reciprocal trajectories between thalamus and cortex globally and in detail using different neuroanatomical techniques.
Category: