Abstract
Population averaged brain templates are an essential tool for imaging-based neuroscience research, providing investigators with information about the expected size and morphology of brain structures and the spatial relationships between them, within a demographic cross-section. This allows for a standardized comparison of neuroimaging data between subjects and provides neuroimaging software with a probabilistic framework upon which further processing and analysis can be based. Many different templates have been created to represent specific study populations and made publicly available for human and animal research. An increasingly studied animal model in the neurosciences that still lacks appropriate brain templates is the adult Yucatan micropig. In particular, T2-weighted templates are absent in this species as a whole. To address this need and provide a tool for neuroscientists wishing to pursue neuroimaging research in the adult micropig, we present the construction of population averaged (n = 16) T2-weighted MRI brain template for the adult Yucatan micropig. Additionally, we present initial analysis of T1-weighted (n = 3), and diffusion-weighted (n = 3) images through multimodal registration of these contrasts to our T2 template. The strategies used here may also be generalized to create similar templates for other study populations or species in need of template construction.
Highlights
The Yucatan micropig (Sus scrofa domesticus) is an important and useful large animal model in translational neuroscience, given the similarities in size, anatomy, and physiology between the brains and spinal cords of pigs and humans (Lind et al, 2007; Bjarkam et al, 2008; Sauleau et al, 2009; Lee et al, 2013; Noga et al, 2020)
In addition to revealing morphological characteristics of the brain at a population level, averaging images generally reduced the standard deviation of voxel gray values within structures, which improves signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR); with the rigidly coregistered images, the average template had blurred edges and borders which canceled much of these benefits (Figures 4A,B)
This study presents the first T2-weighted population averaged MRI brain templates for the adult Yucatan micropig, using non-linear registration methods
Summary
The Yucatan micropig (Sus scrofa domesticus) is an important and useful large animal model in translational neuroscience, given the similarities in size, anatomy, and physiology between the brains and spinal cords of pigs and humans (Lind et al, 2007; Bjarkam et al, 2008; Sauleau et al, 2009; Lee et al, 2013; Noga et al, 2020). The most common miniature breeds used in the US, in ascending order of size (at sexual maturity), are the Göttingen (10–14 kg), Yucatan micropig (14–20 kg), Sinclair (16–22 kg), Yucatan minipig (20– 30 kg), and Hanford (25–40 kg) (Smith and Swindle, 2006). They continue to grow throughout adulthood, the relatively small size of the Yucatan micropig and its docile temperament make for generally lower maintenance costs and easy handling
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