The Brain/MINDS Marmoset Connectivity Atlas: Exploring bidirectional tracing and tractography in the same stereotaxic space

Abstract

We report on the implementation and features of the Brain/MINDS Marmoset Connectivity Atlas, BMCA, a new resource that provides access to anterograde neuronal tracer data in the prefrontal cortex of a marmoset brain. Neuronal tracers combined with fluorescence microscopy are a key technology for the systematic mapping of structural brain connectivity. We selected the prefrontal cortex for mapping due to its important role in higher brain functions. This work introduces the BMCA standard image preprocessing pipeline and tools for exploring and reviewing the data. We developed the BMCA-Explorer, which is an online image viewer designed for data exploration. Unlike other existing image explorers, it visualizes the data of different individuals in a common reference space at an unprecedented high resolution, facilitating comparative studies. To foster the integration with other marmoset brain image databases and cross-species comparisons, we added fiber tractography data from diffusion MRI, retrograde neural tracer data from the Marmoset Brain Connectivity Atlas project, and tools to map image data between marmoset and the human brain image space. This version of BMCA allows direct comparison between the results of 52 anterograde and 164 retrograde tracer injections in the cortex of the marmoset.