Researchers can measure brain's neural connections

June 1, 2011
Source: Brown University

Computer scientists at Brown University have created software to examine neural circuitry in the human brain. The 2-D neural maps combine visual clarity with a Web-based digital map interface, and users can view 2-D maps together with 3-D images. The program aims to better understand myelinated axons, which have been linked to pathologies such as autism. Results are published in IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

The bundles of individual nerves that transmit information from one part of the brain to the other, like fiber-optic cables, are so intricate and so interwoven that they can be difficult to trace through standard imaging techniques. To help, computer science researchers at Brown University have produced 2-D maps of the neural circuitry in the human brain.

“In short, we have developed a new way to make 2-D diagrams that illustrate 3-D connectivity in human brains,” said David Laidlaw, professor of computer science at Brown and corresponding author on the paper published in IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. “You can see everything here that you can’t really see with the bigger (3-D) images.”

The 2-D neural maps are simplified representations of neural pathways in the brain. These representations are created using a medical imaging protocol that measures the water diffusion within and around nerves of the brain. The sheathing is composed of myelin, a fatty membrane that wraps around axons, the threadlike extensions of neurons that make up nerve fibers.

Medical investigators can use the 2-D neural maps to pinpoint spots where the myelin may be compromised, which could affect the vitality of the neural circuits. That can help identify pathologies, such as autism, that brain scientists increasingly believe manifest themselves in myelinated axons.
Researchers can use the 2-D neural maps to help identify whether the structure or the size of neural bundles differs among individuals and how any differences may relate to performance, skills or other traits. “It’s an anatomical measure,” Laidlaw said. “It’s a tool that we hope will help the field.”

“What you see is what you operate,” said Jianu, the paper’s lead author. “There’s no change in perspective with what you’re working with on the screen.”

Users can export the 2-D brain representations as images and display them in Web browsers using Google Maps. “The advantage of using this mode of distribution is that users don't have to download a large dataset, put it in the right format, and then use a complicated software to try and look at it, but can simply load a webpage,” Jianu explained.

The program is designed to share research. Scientists can use the Web to review brain research in other labs that may be useful to their own work.