LittleBrain: A gradient-based tool for the topographical interpretation of cerebellar neuroimaging findings

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 1; p. e0210028
• Main Authors: Guell, Xavier, Goncalves, Mathias, Kaczmarzyk, Jakub R, Gabrieli, John D E, Schmahmann, Jeremy D, Ghosh, Satrajit S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 16.01.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain architecture; Brain mapping; Brain Mapping - methods; Brain research; Cerebellum; Cerebellum - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral cortex; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Computer and Information Sciences; Cortex; Data processing; Dementia; Disease; Downloading; Embedding; Functional anatomy; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Functional morphology; Functionally gradient materials; Hospitals; Humans; Internet; Laboratories; Linux; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Mapping; Markov Chains; Medical imaging; Medical schools; Medicine and Health Sciences; Motors; Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging; Neural Pathways - diagnostic imaging; Neuroanatomy; Neurobiology; Neuroimaging; Neuroimaging - methods; Neurology; Neurosciences; Reproducibility of Results; Research and Analysis Methods; Scholarly publishing; Sensorimotor system; Social Sciences; Studies; Topographic divides; Topography; United States > US; Massachusetts
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210028

Gradient-based approaches to brain function have recently unmasked fundamental properties of brain organization. Diffusion map embedding analysis of resting-state fMRI data revealed a primary-to-transmodal axis of cerebral cortical macroscale functional organization. The same method was recently used to analyze resting-state data within the cerebellum, revealing for the first time a sensorimotor-fugal macroscale organization principle of cerebellar function. Cerebellar gradient 1 extended from motor to non-motor task-unfocused (default-mode network) areas, and cerebellar gradient 2 isolated task-focused processing regions. Here we present a freely available and easily accessible tool that applies this new knowledge to the topographical interpretation of cerebellar neuroimaging findings. LittleBrain illustrates the relationship between cerebellar data (e.g., volumetric patient study clusters, task activation maps, etc.) and cerebellar gradients 1 and 2. Specifically, LittleBrain plots all voxels of the cerebellum in a two-dimensional scatterplot, with each axis corresponding to one of the two principal functional gradients of the cerebellum, and indicates the position of cerebellar neuroimaging data within these two dimensions. This novel method of data mapping provides alternative, gradual visualizations that complement discrete parcellation maps of cerebellar functional neuroanatomy. We present application examples to show that LittleBrain can also capture subtle, progressive aspects of cerebellar functional neuroanatomy that would be difficult to visualize using conventional mapping techniques. Download and use instructions can be found at https://xaviergp.github.io/littlebrain.