Open AccessAn In Vivo Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Averaged Brain Collection of the Neonatal Piglet (Sus scrofa)
Author(s) -
Matthew S. Conrad,
Bradley P. Sutton,
Ryan N. Dilger,
Rodney W. Johnson
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0107650
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , neuroimaging , brain development , in vivo , voxel , functional magnetic resonance imaging , biology , neuroscience , pathology , medicine , radiology , microbiology and biotechnology
Due to the fact that morphology and perinatal growth of the piglet brain is similar to humans, use of the piglet as a translational animal model for neurodevelopmental studies is increasing. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be a powerful tool to study neurodevelopment in piglets, but many of the MRI resources have been produced for adult humans. Here, we present an average in vivo MRI-based atlas specific for the 4-week-old piglet. In addition, we have developed probabilistic tissue classification maps. These tools can be used with brain mapping software packages (e.g. SPM and FSL) to aid in voxel-based morphometry and image analysis techniques. The atlas enables efficient study of neurodevelopment in a highly tractable translational animal with brain growth and development similar to humans.