SIGMA Rat Brain Space v1.0 released Posted By: David Andre Barriere - Jun 17, 2019Tool/Resource: SIGMA Rat Brain Templates and Atlases Rat brain imaging studies offer an access to deep and varied information of the brain physiology in normal and pathological conditions, allowing experimental protocols and investigations that go beyond to what is possible in human studies. Unfortunately, rodent imaging technics still suffer from a lack of dedicated, standardized and comprehensive neuroimaging tools, particularly brain templates and descriptive brain atlases. Such references are critical cornerstones for a powerful analysis, notably for longitudinal studies and group level comparisons. Herein, we present an ex vivo rat whole brain MRI template and its associated Gray Matter (GM), White Matter (WM) and CerebroSpinal Fluid (CSF) probability maps, generated from high spatial resolution T2*-weighted images (90 µm isotropic). In association with this template, we provide both anatomical and functional 3D brain atlases, respectively derived from 1) the merging of the standard Waxholm and Tohoku atlases (246 regions of interest) and 2) the analysis of resting-state functional MRI data acquired from 80 scanning sessions (59 regions of interest). Moreover, our methodology was applied to produce an in vivo T2-weighted template image, warped on the ex vivo template and atlases, dedicated to morphological and functional analyses and its associated GM, WM and CSF probability maps. Finally, we propose a complete set of preclinical MRI reference resources, compatible with the common neuroimaging software, for the investigation of rat brain structures and functions in healthy and pathological conditions. |
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