Abstract
The wealth of competing parcellations with limited cross-correspondence between atlases of the human thalamus raises problems in a time when the usefulness of neuroanatomical methods is increasingly appreciated for modern computational analyses of the brain. An unequivocal nomenclature is, however, compulsory for the understanding of the organization of the thalamus. This situation cannot be improved by renewed discussion but with implementation of neuroinformatics tools. We adopted a new volumetric approach to characterize the significant subdivisions and determined the relationships between the parcellation schemes of nine most influential atlases of the human thalamus. The volumes of each atlas were 3d-reconstructed and spatially registered to the standard MNI/ICBM2009b reference volume of the Human Brain Atlas in the MNI (Montreal Neurological Institute) space (Mai and Majtanik, 2017). This normalization of the individual thalamus shapes allowed for the comparison of the nuclear regions delineated by the different authors. Quantitative cross-comparisons revealed the extent of predictability of territorial borders for 11 area clusters. In case of discordant parcellations we re-analyzed the underlying histological features and the original descriptions. The final scheme of the spatial organization provided the frame for the selected terms for the subdivisions of the human thalamus using on the (modified) terminology of the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT). Waiving of exact individual definition of regional boundaries in favor of the statistical representation within the open MNI platform provides the common and objective (standardized) ground to achieve concordance between results from different sources (microscopy, imaging etc.).
Highlights
Modern neuroimaging research requires consistent, internally complete and systematic nomenclature (Swanson, 2015)
In clear contrast to such idealized representations is the complexity of the internal organization and the nomenclature of the human thalamus when it comes to a detailed interpretation
We begin with the internal medullary lamina and associated nuclei because this extended compartment provides as “great defining landmark” (Jones, 1998) the key for the parcellation and regional analysis of the human thalamus
Summary
Modern neuroimaging research requires consistent, internally complete and systematic nomenclature (Swanson, 2015). For the new generation of discovery tools a solid thalamus parcellation and nomenclature is essential. Traditional textbooks, are not helpful as they normally mediate a stereotypical picture of the human thalamus with a spheroid structure in the center of an established standardization grid (standard space) with nuclei that are named according their topographic positions (anterior, central etc.) and show an orderly arrangement of in- and output relations. In clear contrast to such idealized representations is the complexity of the internal organization and the nomenclature of the human thalamus when it comes to a detailed interpretation. Terminology for the Thalamus is confronted with multiple parcellation schemes with often bewildering terms. Comparing the different competing delineations and deciphering the innumerable and often non-matching terms is coping with frustration
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