Comprehensive cellular‐resolution atlas of the adult human brain

Abstract

Detailed anatomical understanding of the human brain is essential for unraveling its functional architecture, yet current reference atlases have major limitations such as lack of whole‐brain coverage, relatively low image resolution, and sparse structural annotation. We present the first digital human brain atlas to incorporate neuroimaging, high‐resolution histology, and chemoarchitecture across a complete adult female brain, consisting of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI), and 1,356 large‐format cellular resolution (1 µm/pixel) Nissl and immunohistochemistry anatomical plates. The atlas is comprehensively annotated for 862 structures, including 117 white matter tracts and several novel cyto‐ and chemoarchitecturally defined structures, and these annotations were transferred onto the matching MRI dataset. Neocortical delineations were done for sulci, gyri, and modified Brodmann areas to link macroscopic anatomical and microscopic cytoarchitectural parcellations. Correlated neuroimaging and histological structural delineation allowed fine feature identification in MRI data and subsequent structural identification in MRI data from other brains. This interactive online digital atlas is integrated with existing Allen Institute for Brain Science gene expression atlases and is publicly accessible as a resource for the neuroscience community. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3127–3481, 2016. © 2016 The Authors The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The basal interstitial nucleus (BIN) of the cerebellum provides diffuse ascending inhibitory input to the floccular granule cell layer

“…However, the cells explored in these studies were localized medial of group Y, whereas BIN neurons identified by retrograde tracing localize lateral of group Y (see Figure 1 of this study, and Figure 3 in Langer, 1985). In a recent human brain Atlas (Ding et al, 2016), the term BIcb (BIN of the cerebellum) has been assigned to a population of large neurons in the roof of the 4th ventricle neurons (see Fig. 13 of Ding et al, 2016).…”

“…In a recent human brain Atlas (Ding et al, 2016), the term BIcb (BIN of the cerebellum) has been assigned to a population of large neurons in the roof of the 4th ventricle neurons (see Fig. 13 of Ding et al, 2016). In this study, there is no reference to the study of Langer (Langer, 1985), and it is not clear whether the BIcb was intended to represent the human homologue of the macaque BIN (Ding et al, 2016).…”

“…13 of Ding et al, 2016). In this study, there is no reference to the study of Langer (Langer, 1985), and it is not clear whether the BIcb was intended to represent the human homologue of the macaque BIN (Ding et al, 2016). On the basis of our data, we propose to reserve the term BIN (or BICb) for the population of neurons originally defined by Langer on the basis of retrograde tracing from the flocculus Langer, 1985).…”

The relationship between the claustrum and endopiriform nucleus: A perspective towards consensus on cross‐species homology

“…By comparison, the definition of En is rather ambiguous. In some studies, En is considered to be identical to the "ventral claustrum" (Buchanan & Johnson, 2011;Kowia nski et al, 1999), whereas in other studies it is considered part of the amygdaloid complex (Ding et al, 2016;Kordower, Le, & Mufson, 1992;Kritzer, Innis, & Goldman-Rakic, 1988). Based on morphological appearance, the same structure appears to be annotated differently across atlases and peer-reviewed reports (see below for more details).…”

“…Furthermore, the large nuclear cluster within the temporal lobe white matter also showed high (Paxinos & Watson, 2007;Swanson & Petrovich, 1998) and in macaques (Paxinos et al, 2000), what is designated as the "ventral endopiriform nucleus" is a structure that lies closer to the amygdala than to the DEn. It is likely that the "endopiriform nucleus" has been classified into the amygdaloid complex in some studies (Ding et al, 2016;Kordower et al, 1992;Kritzer et al, 1988), because it contained the VEn, which should be regarded as entirely different from the CLA-DEn complex.…”