Abstract：
The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) is a crucial experimental animal that shares many genetic, brain organizational, and behavioral characteristics with humans. A macaque brain atlas is fundamental to biomedical and evolutionary research. However, even though connectivity is vital for understanding brain functions, a connectivity-based whole-brain atlas of the macaque has not previously been made. In this study, we created a new whole-brain map, the Macaque Brainnetome Atlas (MacBNA), based on the anatomical connectivity profiles provided by high angular and spatial resolution ex vivo diffusion MRI data. The new atlas consists of 248 cortical and 56 subcortical regions as well as their structural and functional connections. The parcellation and the diffusion-based tractography were evaluated with invasive neuronal-tracing and Nissl-stained images. As a demonstrative application, the structural connectivity divergence between macaque and human brains was mapped using the Brainnetome atlases of those two species to uncover the genetic underpinnings of the evolutionary changes in brain structure. The resulting resource includes: (1) the thoroughly delineated Macaque Brainnetome Atlas (MacBNA), (2) regional connectivity profiles, (3) the postmortem high-resolution macaque diffusion and T2-weighted MRI dataset (Brainnetome-8), and (4) multi-contrast MRI, neuronal-tracing, and histological images collected from a single macaque. MacBNA can serve as a common reference frame for mapping multifaceted features across modalities and spatial scales and for integrative investigation and characterization of brain organization and function. Therefore, it will enrich the collaborative resource platform for nonhuman primates and facilitate translational and comparative neuroscience research.
摘要：
恒河猴（Macacamulatta）是一种至关重要的实验动物，具有许多遗传特征，大脑组织，和人类的行为特征。猕猴脑图谱是生物医学和进化研究的基础。然而,尽管连通性对于理解大脑功能至关重要，以前还没有制作过基于连通性的猕猴全脑图谱。在这项研究中,我们创造了一个新的全脑地图,猕猴脑图集（MacBNA），基于高角度和空间分辨率的离体扩散MRI数据提供的解剖连接剖面。新的图谱由248个皮质和56个皮质下区域以及它们的结构和功能连接组成。使用侵入性神经元追踪和Nissl染色图像评估了基于扩散的纤维束成像。作为示范应用，使用这两个物种的Brainnetome图谱绘制了猕猴和人类大脑之间的结构连通性差异，以揭示大脑结构进化变化的遗传基础。由此产生的资源包括：（1）彻底划定的猕猴脑图集（MacBNA），(2)区域连通性概况，（3）死后高分辨率猕猴扩散和T2加权MRI数据集（Brainnetome-8），和（4）多对比MRI，神经元追踪，和从一只猕猴收集的组织学图像。MacBNA可以作为一个共同的参考框架，用于跨模态和空间尺度绘制多方面的特征，并用于大脑组织和功能的综合研究和表征。因此,它将丰富非人类灵长类动物的协作资源平台，并促进转化和比较神经科学研究。
