Grant: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Research on human brain connections use three dimensional (3D) images of the brain obtained through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A brain connections atlas is an essential tool in that research field. It is composed of a set of digital maps which describe brain anatomy and identify the connections between functional regions of the brain. We propose to build an ultra-high resolution atlas of the human brain connections. Recently, the 3D-PLI dataset as been produced in Germany. It is a 3D digital image of the human brain fibers with unparalleled 3D resolution. It reveals 3D details that are 2.5 million times smaller than a regular MRI volume. However, at present it is only an image, not an atlas. For it to be an atlas, we have to identify in 3D every fiber connection and group them into family of fibers towards a functional region of the brain (such as "visual cortex" or "memory area"). This will allow the 3D-PLI dataset to be used in a variety of brain research and clinical applications and also to be used for teaching purposes such as training medical students in the 3D brain connectivity. For research, the ultra-high resolution of the atlas will be used as a template to interpret and validate the lower-resolution MRI images that we use to identify the fiber connections in the brain. This will help to understand brain development in children and the neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease. We will also use the atlas as a guide to the study of normal brain functions, such as sensation (vision, hearing), memory and language. For clinical applications, the new atlas will be most useful as a guide to neurosurgeons who always make use of brain atlases to plan their surgery. This is typically done using 2D atlas pages in a book, thus restricting the angle of view. The 3D-PLI digital atlas will allow them to view from any angle the relevant brain connections between areas, making it much easier to get the information they need for surgical planning.