Whole brain comparative anatomy using connectivity blueprints

• Published in: eLife Vol. 7
• Main Authors: Mars, Rogier B, Sotiropoulos, Stamatios N, Passingham, Richard E, Sallet, Jerome, Verhagen, Lennart, Khrapitchev, Alexandre A, Sibson, Nicola, Jbabdi, Saad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England eLife Science Publications, Ltd 11.05.2018; eLife Sciences Publications Ltd; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subjects: Anatomy, Comparative - methods; Animals; Brain; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain research; comparative anatomy; connectivity; connectivity blueprint; connectivity fingerprint matching; Connectome; Cortex; Female; Humans; Macaca; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Medical research; Neural networks; Neural Pathways - anatomy & histology; Neuroscience; Physiological aspects; Primates; Probability distribution; Species; Substantia alba; Tools and Resources; United Kingdom > UK; comparative anatomy; connectivity fingerprint matching; rhesus macaque; connectivity; neuroscience; connectivity blueprint; human
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/elife.35237

Comparing the brains of related species faces the challenges of establishing homologies whilst accommodating evolutionary specializations. Here we propose a general framework for understanding similarities and differences between the brains of primates. The approach uses white matter blueprints of the whole cortex based on a set of white matter tracts that can be anatomically matched across species. The blueprints provide a common reference space that allows us to navigate between brains of different species, identify homologous cortical areas, or to transform whole cortical maps from one species to the other. Specializations are cast within this framework as deviations between the species' blueprints. We illustrate how this approach can be used to compare human and macaque brains.