This study maps the topographic organization of the human zona incerta using diffusion MRI and connectivity analysis, revealing gradients and clusters linked to specific cortical regions and functions.

eLife · Oct 23, 2026Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

AFIDs-Validator: An Open-Access AI-Guided Platform for Learning Anatomical Landmark Placement

Alaa Taha, Dhananjhay Bansal, Jason Kai, Tristan K. Kuehn, Olivia W. Stanley, Patrick Park, Arun Thurairajah, Mackenzie Snyder, Greydon Gilmore, Mohamad Abbass, Borna Mahmoudian, Violet M. Liu, Jaime Thrower, Ali R. Khan, Jonathan C. Lau

Open browser platform embeds a language-model neuroanatomy tutor in an MRI viewer and scores landmark placements against 21 expert-annotated templates using trained-rater error distributions.

bioRxiv · Aug 24, 2026 · PreprintScientific Communication & Education✦ In-depth digest

An anatomically distinct dopaminergic cell population of the zona incerta as evidence for the human A13 nucleus

Violet M. Liu, Roy A.M. Haast, Tallulah S. Andrews, Wataru Inoue, Alaa Taha, Jason Kai, Ali R Khan, Jonathan C. Lau

The paper identifies a human zona incerta subregion with characteristics of the rodent A13 nucleus using MRI and histology.

bioRxiv · May 14, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Accurate spatial localization of Allen Human Brain Atlas gene expression data for human neuroimaging

Yohan Yee, Yuhan Liu, Leon French, Violet M. Liu, Alaa Taha, Bradley Karat, Ali R. Khan, Jonathan C. Lau, Yashar Zeighami, Gabriel A. Devenyi, M. Mallar Chakravarty

This paper identifies inaccuracies in existing spatial coordinates for the Allen Human Brain Atlas and provides a refined coordinate set to improve gene expression integration with neuroimaging data.

bioRxiv · Jun 2, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience