DeMBA: a developmental atlas for navigating the mouse brain in space and time

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Adult mouse brain studies utilize 3D atlases for standardized analysis.
• Limited 3D atlases exist for the developing mouse brain, covering few ages and lacking cross-age spatial correspondence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a comprehensive 4D atlas of the developing mouse brain covering all postnatal days.
• To provide tools for spatial registration, analysis, and cross-age comparison of developmental brain data.

Main Methods:

• Developed the Developmental Mouse Brain Atlas (DeMBA) by interpolating between existing templates for six developmental time points.
• Integrated DeMBA into software for spatial registration and analysis.
• Created the CCF translator software for transforming data between ages.

Main Results:

• The DeMBA is a 4D atlas covering postnatal days 4 to 56.
• Software enables brain-wide quantification and comparison of developmental features.
• CCF translator facilitates coordinate and image volume transformation across ages.

Conclusions:

• DeMBA provides an age-specific spatial framework for developmental mouse brain research.
• Accessible analytic pipelines support the analysis of developmental mouse brain data.
• The atlas and tools facilitate a deeper understanding of dynamic brain development.