Abstract
Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational analysis technology have enabled comparisons among various primate brains in a three-dimensional electronic format. Results from comparative studies provide information about common features across primates and species-specific features of neuroanatomy. Investigation of various species of non-human primates is important for understanding such features, but the majority of comparative MRI studies have been based on experimental primates, such as common marmoset, macaques, and chimpanzee. A major obstacle has been the lack of a database that includes non-experimental primates’ brain MRIs. To facilitate scientific discoveries in the field of comparative neuroanatomy and brain evolution, we launched a collaborative project to develop an open-resource repository of non-human primate brain images obtained using ex vivo MRI. As an initial open resource, here we release a collection of structural MRI and diffusion tensor images obtained from 12 species: pygmy marmoset, owl monkey, white-fronted capuchin, crab-eating macaque, Japanese macaque, bonnet macaque, toque macaque, Sykes’ monkey, red-tailed monkey, Schmidt’s guenon, de Brazza’s guenon, and lar gibbon. Sixteen postmortem brain samples from the 12 species, stored in the Japan Monkey Centre (JMC), were scanned using a 9.4-T MRI scanner and made available through the JMC collaborative research program (http://www.j-monkey.jp/BIR/index_e.html). The expected significant contributions of the JMC Primates Brain Imaging Repository include (1) resources for comparative neuroscience research, (2) preservation of various primate brains, including those of endangered species, in a permanent digital form, (3) resources with higher resolution for identifying neuroanatomical features, compared to previous MRI atlases, (4) resources for optimizing methods of scanning large fixed brains, and (5) references for veterinary neuroradiology. User-initiated research projects beyond these contributions are also anticipated.
Highlights
In the quest for a scientific understanding of the nature of humans, it is crucial to elucidate the evolutionary process of the special features of the central nervous system in modern humans (Homo sapiens) (Preuss 2011; Rilling 2014)
This approach provides information about the common features among primates, the specific features of each primate, and the humanspecific features, of the brain, which are all necessary to understand the evolutionary changes of the brain structures and functions, including those seen in humans, such as language function and mental disorders
We succeeded in acquiring high-spatial-resolution T2-weighted images and DTIs (DWIs, b0, Fracional anisotroy (FA) map, and color map) from various non-human primate brain samples (Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Summary
In the quest for a scientific understanding of the nature of humans, it is crucial to elucidate the evolutionary process of the special features of the central nervous system in modern humans (Homo sapiens) (Preuss 2011; Rilling 2014). To further investigate changes of various component brain structures that occurred during human evolution, comparative neuroanatomy, in which similarities and differences among human and non-human primate brains are identified, is necessary This approach provides information about the common features among primates, the specific features of each primate, and the humanspecific features, of the brain, which are all necessary to understand the evolutionary changes of the brain structures and functions, including those seen in humans, such as language function and mental disorders. Traditional approaches and their limitations for primate comparative neuroanatomy Among various measures of comparative neuroanatomy, volume, shape, gyrification, cytoarchitecture, and the connectivity among cortical areas are often used as the targets of research (Krubitzer and Kaas 2005). There are macroscopic and microscopic approaches for making the respective measurements
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