title: Computation of a high-resolution MRI 3D stereotaxic atlas of the sheep brain.
abstract: The sheep model was first used in the fields of animal reproduction and veterinary sciences and then was utilized in fundamental and preclinical studies. For more than a decade, magnetic resonance (MR) studies performed on this model have been increasingly reported, especially in the field of neuroscience. To contribute to MR translational neuroscience research, a brain template and an atlas are necessary. We have recently generated the first complete T1-weighted (T1W) and T2W MR population average images (or templates) of in vivo sheep brains. In this study, we 1) defined a 3D stereotaxic coordinate system for previously established in vivo population average templates; 2) used deformation fields obtained during optimized nonlinear registrations to compute nonlinear tissues or prior probability maps (nlTPMs) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray matter (GM), and white matter (WM) tissues; 3) delineated 25 external and 28 internal sheep brain structures by segmenting both templates and nlTPMs; and 4) annotated and labeled these structures using an existing histological atlas. We built a quality high-resolution 3D atlas of average in vivo sheep brains linked to a reference stereotaxic space. The atlas and nlTPMs, associated with previously computed T1W and T2W in vivo sheep brain templates and nlTPMs, provide a complete set of imaging space that are able to be imported into other imaging software programs and could be used as standardized tools for neuroimaging studies or other neuroscience methods, such as image registration, image segmentation, identification of brain structures, implementation of recording devices, or neuronavigation. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:676-692, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors: INRA, UMR 85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.|CNRS, UMR 7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.|Université François Rabelais, F-37041, Nouzilly, France.
authors: Arsène
authors: A
authors: Ella
authors: Centro de Investigacion en Reproducion Caprina, Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Torreon, Mexico.
authors: José A
authors: JA
authors: Delgadillo
authors: INRA, UMR 85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.|CNRS, UMR 7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.|Université François Rabelais, F-37041, Nouzilly, France.
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Chemineau
authors: INRA, UMR 85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.|CNRS, UMR 7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.|Université François Rabelais, F-37041, Nouzilly, France.
authors: Matthieu
authors: M
authors: Keller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001271:Atlases as Topic; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D023421:Models, Animal; D059906:Neuroimaging; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D012756:Sheep / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: FSL (RRID: SCR_002823); MRI; Michigan Sheep Brain Atlas; RRID: SCR_001752; SPM (RRID: SCR_007037); atlas; brain structures; image registration; in vivo sheep; template; tissue probability map