BrainBuilder

BrainBuilder reconstructs 3-dimensional cortical maps from multi-modal 2D data sets of post-mortem brain sections for mesoscale mapping of brain architecture.

Key Features:

• Multi-modal data integration: Processes 2-dimensional serial brain sections visualizing multiple different biological features including neurotransmitter receptor binding sites, cell staining, and myelin staining.
• Cross-species applicability: Can be applied to brains from different species without strict need for a corresponding reference volume from the brain donor.
• Reference-free reconstruction: Enables mesoscale mapping of chemo- and cytoarchitecture without requiring a reference volume.

Scientific Applications:

• Neurotransmitter receptor mapping: Reconstructs 3D distributions of multiple neurotransmitter receptor binding sites in human and macaque brain.
• Cytoarchitectonic mapping: Generates mesoscale maps of cell body distributions from stained sections.
• Myeloarchitectonic mapping: Reconstructs 3D distributions of myelin patterns across cortical areas.
• Multi-scale brain imaging integration: Provides a bridge between neuron-level micro-scale imaging and macro-level population brain imaging.
• Mesoscale atlas development: Serves as the basis for development of future mesoscale 3D atlases.

Methodology:

The pipeline processes 2-dimensional post-mortem serial brain sections for visualization of multiple biological features and reconstructs them into 3-dimensional cortical maps.