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Computational biology for visualization of brain structure

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Abstract

The complexity and variability of human brain (as well as other species) across subjects is so great that reliance on maps and atlases is essential to effectively manipulate, analyze and interpret brain data. Central to these tasks is the construction of averages, templates and models to describe how the brain and its component parts are organized. Design of appropriate reference systems and visualization strategies for human brain data presents considerable challenges, since these systems must capture how brain structure and function vary in large populations, across age and gender, in different disease states, across imaging modalities and even across species. This paper will describe the application of brain maps to a variety of questions and problems in health and disease. It includes a brief survey of different types of maps, including those that capture dynamic patterns of brain change over time.

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Acknowledgments

This work was generously supported by research grants from the CCB (U54 RR021813), P41 (P41 RR013642), National Library of Medicine (LM/MH005639) and by a Human Brain Project grant known as the International Consortium for Brain Mapping, which is funded jointly by NIMH and NIDA (P01 EB001955).

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  1. Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Reed Neurological Research Center, Room 4238, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1769, USA

    Arthur W. Toga

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Toga, A.W. Computational biology for visualization of brain structure. Anat Embryol 210, 433–438 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-005-0040-6

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