Multi-modal brain data exploration software for imaging transcriptomics: A comparative evaluation and future...

The integration of neuroimaging and transcriptomics data has revolutionized our understanding of complex brain phenomena and holds promise for linking molecular level genetic markers to brain dynamics and function. However, the involved data differ strongly across biological scales and acquisition modalities, presenting significant preprocessing and analytical challenges. In this context, multi-modal brain data exploration software offers a low-threshold, holistic, and non-biased approach to hypothesis generation that is complementary to literature search. This review assesses current data exploration tools that combine transcriptomic and neuroimaging data, evaluating them based on species coverage, data modalities, data integration approaches, visualization capabilities, and user data integration. We highlight the potential of these tools by discussing their applicability for example research questions and identify yet unaddressed workflows and promising approaches to support imaging transcriptomics analyses. This comprehensive survey aims to inform researchers in their selection of suitable software for their specific research needs and to guide the development of more effective multi-modal brain data exploration tools.