An additional level of precision and a more complete visualization and improved understanding of complex topographical relationships is achieved with use of three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructions.
#ZOOMIFY HISTOLOGY SERIES#
By collecting series of sections and performing a systematic analysis, several important features related to projection patterns can be revealed. Ĭlassical tracing studies involve tissue processing and analysis of histological sections sampled from regions of interest. Precise mapping of the wiring patterns of the brain and identification of the organizing principles underlying the spatial distribution of neural connections is furthermore relevant for ongoing large scale efforts to better understand brain function through computational modeling. Axonal tracing studies have contributed importantly to the mapping of neuronal projections, by identifying presence of connections between different regions of the brain, elucidating strength of projections, demonstrating shape and size of terminal fields of axons from tracer injected sites, and mapping topographical organization. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.ĭeciphering the complex wiring patterns that underlie brain function and behavior has been an important topic of research for over more than a century. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedĭata Availability: The reconstructed image volumes are shared via the Rodent Brain Workbench ( see Whole Brain Connectivity Atlas) and via the online digital repository Figshare ( ).įunding: This work was supported by (PS-V08, ) to TBL The Research Council of Norway (Norwegian Node of the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility, project ID 214842, ( ) and the European Commission (FP-FET-F, The Human Brain Project, project ID 604102, ) to JGB and the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme Innovative Economy (POIG. Received: JanuAccepted: AugPublished: September 23, 2015Ĭopyright: © 2015 Zakiewicz et al. PLoS ONE 10(9):Įditor: Yong Fan, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, UNITED STATES The reconstructed image volumes are shared via the Rodent Brain Workbench ( Citation: Zakiewicz IM, Majka P, Wójcik DK, Bjaalie JG, Leergaard TB (2015) Three-Dimensional Histology Volume Reconstruction of Axonal Tract Tracing Data: Exploring Topographical Organization in Subcortical Projections from Rat Barrel Cortex. We conclude that histology volume reconstructions facilitate mapping of spatial distribution patterns and topographical organization. Our results further show that clusters of S1 corticostriatal and corticothalamic projections are distributed within narrow, elongated or spherical subspaces extending across the entire striatum / thalamus. We demonstrate that even with the limitations of the original routine histological material, the 3-D reconstructed volumetric images allow efficient visualization of tracer injection sites and axonal labeling, facilitating detection of spatial distributions and across-case comparisons. The aims were firstly to evaluate the quality of the 3-D reconstructions and the usefulness of the approach, and secondly to investigate axonal projection patterns and topographical organization in rat corticostriatal and corticothalamic pathways.
#ZOOMIFY HISTOLOGY SERIAL#
We here reconstruct serial histological images from four whole brains (originally acquired for conventional microscopic analysis) into volumetric images that are spatially registered to a 3-D atlas template. 3-D reconstruction approaches based on manually or semi-automatically recorded spatial points representing axonal labeling have been successfully applied for investigation of smaller brain regions, but are not practically feasible for whole-brain analysis of multiple regions. Three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction techniques are used to achieve more complete visualization and improved understanding of complex topographical relationships. The presence, amount, and spatial distribution of axonal connections are typically studied in tract tracing experiments in which axons or neurons are labeled and examined in histological sections. Topographical organization is a hallmark of the mammalian brain, and the spatial organization of axonal connections in different brain regions provides a structural framework accommodating specific patterns of neural activity.
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