Parcellation of Macaque Cortex with Anatomical Connectivity Profiles

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging
• Primate Research

Background:

• The macaque model is crucial for studying cognitive functions and psychiatric disorders.
• A detailed functional architecture map of the macaque cortex in vivo is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a novel macaque cortex atlas using in vivo diffusion MRI.
• To map the macaque cortex based on anatomical connectivity profiles.

Main Methods:

• Defined macaque cortical seed areas using the NeuroMaps atlas.
• Applied connectivity patterns-based parcellation to divide the cortex into 80 subareas per hemisphere.
• Utilized graph-based network analyses to identify hub areas.

Main Results:

• Successfully parcellated the macaque cortex into 80 subareas per hemisphere, showing approximate symmetry.
• Identified specific numbers of subareas within frontal, somatosensory, parietal, temporal, occipital, and limbic regions.
• Discovered seven hub areas, including bilateral ventral premotor cortex and superior parietal lobule.

Conclusions:

• The newly constructed macaque cortex atlas provides a detailed functional architecture map.
• This atlas is expected to significantly advance future research on macaque brain structure and function.