Standard atlas space for C57BL/6J neonatal mouse brain

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Comparative Anatomy
• Developmental Neuroscience

Background:

• Standardized atlases are crucial for comparing brain structures across individuals and studies.
• Existing mouse brain atlases may not adequately represent early developmental stages or accommodate variations from different imaging techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stereotaxic atlas space for the postnatal day 0 (P0) C57BL/6J mouse brain.
• To validate the atlas's applicability across different imaging protocols and histological data.
• To provide a reliable framework for neuroimaging analysis of early-stage mouse brains.

Main Methods:

• Construction of a standard atlas space from eight co-registered MR image volumes of P0 C57BL/6J mouse brains.
• Statistical analysis of registration accuracy and morphometric variations.
• Application and validation of the atlas coordinate system with diverse imaging data and a high-resolution histological atlas.

Main Results:

• The developed atlas space offers a stable and accurate framework for registering P0 mouse brain MR images.
• Feature-based co-registration strategies enable accurate anatomical mapping even with invasive imaging methods.
• The atlas demonstrates high mapping accuracy when applied to different imaging protocols and histological data.

Conclusions:

• The P0 mouse brain atlas provides a robust foundation for quantitative neuroimaging research.
• The atlas framework facilitates comparative analysis of brain development and structure across various imaging modalities.
• The atlas templates and probability map are publicly available for research use.