Abstract
Changes in fine structures of the brain over a life span can have robust effects on neural activity and brain function, which both play crucial roles in neurodegenerative diseases. Clinically, however, low-resolution MRI only provides limited information about fine brain structures. Here, using high-resolution 9.4 T MRI, we established a set of structural images and explored the fine structures of the claustrum, hippocampus, amygdala complex, and subregions of the amygdala complex (BLA, including lateral, basal, and accessory basal subnuclei) in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) brains. Based on these high-resolution images, we were able to discriminate the subregional boundaries accurately and, at the same time, obtain the volume of each brain nuclei. Thus, advanced high-resolution 9.4 T MRI not only provides a new strategy for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, but also provides the ability to observe fine structural changes in the brain across a life span.
Highlights
Changes in fine structures of the brain over a life span can have robust effects on neural activity and brain function, which both play crucial roles in neurodegenerative diseases
Postmortem brains of the monkeys were provided by the Kunming Primate Research Center (KPRC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
All animal care and experimental procedures were carried out in strict accordance with the guidelines for the National Care and Use of Animals approved by the National Animal Research Authority (China) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of KIZ, CAS, and were approved by the Ethics Committee of KIZ and KPRC, KIZ, CAS
Summary
Changes in fine structures of the brain over a life span can have robust effects on neural activity and brain function, which both play crucial roles in neurodegenerative diseases. For the 3D images, the following settings were applied: TR/TE=45 ms/13 ms, flip angle=10°, voxel size=155 μm×155 μm×155 μm, matrix size=515×420× 354, acquisition time=1 h 51 m 30 s, band kHz. Currently, there is no precedent for subfield segmentation of the amygdala. MRI segmentation of the hippocampus, amygdala, basolateral complex in the amygdala (BLA, including the lateral, basal, and accessory basal nuclei), and claustrum were manually performed with reference to the atlas “A Combined MRI and Histology Atlas of the Rhesus Monkey Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates ” (Saleem & Logothetis, 2012).
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