Iterative prior-guided parcellation (iPGP) for capturing inter-subject and inter-nuclei variability in thalamic...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging
• Computational Anatomy

Background:

• The thalamus, a key brain relay, has variable structures influencing cognition.
• Individualized mapping of thalamic nuclei is challenging due to anatomical variability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an automated framework for creating individualized thalamic parcellations.
• To assess the reproducibility and adaptability of the proposed method.

Main Methods:

• An iterative prior-guided parcellation (iPGP) framework was developed.
• Utilized Morel histological atlas and diffusion characteristics for parcellation.
• Employed an iterative optimization for individual-specific models.

Main Results:

• iPGP produced personalized, anatomically consistent thalamic parcellations.
• Demonstrated high intra-subject reproducibility and adaptability across age groups.
• Parcellations correlated with adolescent age and adult cognitive scores.

Conclusions:

• iPGP effectively captures individual and regional variability in thalamic structure.
• This framework advances thalamic mapping for brain function research.