title: BigBrain: an ultrahigh-resolution 3D human brain model.
abstract: Reference brains are indispensable tools in human brain mapping, enabling integration of multimodal data into an anatomically realistic standard space. Available reference brains, however, are restricted to the macroscopic scale and do not provide information on the functionally important microscopic dimension. We created an ultrahigh-resolution three-dimensional (3D) model of a human brain at nearly cellular resolution of 20 micrometers, based on the reconstruction of 7404 histological sections. "BigBrain" is a free, publicly available tool that provides considerable neuroanatomical insight into the human brain, thereby allowing the extraction of microscopic data for modeling and simulation. BigBrain enables testing of hypotheses on optimal path lengths between interconnected cortical regions or on spatial organization of genetic patterning, redefining the traditional neuroanatomy maps such as those of Brodmann and von Economo.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1, INM-4), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany. k.amunts@fz-juelich.de
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amunts
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lepage
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Borgeat
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mohlberg
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dickscheid
authors.forename: Marc-Étienne
authors.initials: MÉ
authors.lastname: Rousseau
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bludau
authors.forename: Pierre-Louis
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bazin
authors.forename: Lindsay B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Ana-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Oros-Peusquens
authors.forename: Nadim J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lippert
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zilles
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008867:Microtomy