MEBRAINS: a new population-based monkey template (v1.0)

An important limitation of existing anatomical templates for the macaque brain is their reliance on one subject and/or on unimodality (usually T1 images). The MEBRAINS template overcomes this limitation. It is constructed using the multi-brain toolbox for SPM12 and represents a population average of T1- and T2-weighted MRI scans from 10 macaque brains. In addition, 9 CT scans of the same monkeys (one missing) are registered to the T1 modality and co-registered to the population average. Through its main features (multi-subject based, multi-modal, volume-and-surface), MEBRAINS represents an essential step towards the integration of multi-level macaque data, fulfilling a similar role as the EBRAINS multilevel Human Brain Atlas.

当前猕猴大脑的解剖学模板存在一项重要局限：其要么仅依托单个受试个体，要么仅采用单模态成像数据（通常为T1图像）。MEBRAINS模板突破了这一局限，该模板依托SPM12的多脑工具箱构建，整合了10个猕猴大脑的T1加权与T2加权磁共振成像（Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI）扫描数据，生成群体平均模板。此外，同批次猕猴的9次计算机断层扫描（Computed Tomography, CT）数据（缺失1次）已完成T1模态配准，并与该群体平均模板完成共配准。凭借基于多受试个体、多模态、体素与表面双维度的核心特性，MEBRAINS为猕猴多维度数据的整合迈出了关键一步，其功能与EBRAINS多层级人类脑图谱（Human Brain Atlas）相仿。