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Quantifying Mesoscale Neuroanatomy Using X-Ray Microtomography

Journal Article · · eNeuro
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9]
  1. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). Dept. of Biomedical Engineering; Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA (United States). Dept. of Biomedical Engineering; DOE/OSTI
  2. Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab., Laurel, MD (United States); Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Computer Science
  3. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Neurobiology
  4. Northwestern Univ., Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation Inst. of Chicago, IL (United States). Sensory Motor Performance Program
  5. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source
  6. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. Inst. of Computational Medicine
  7. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source; Northwestern Univ., Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
  8. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
  9. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Neurobiology; Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials

Methods for resolving the three-dimensional (3D) microstructure of the brain typically start by thinly slicing and staining the brain, followed by imaging numerous individual sections with visible light photons or electrons. In contrast, X-rays can be used to image thick samples, providing a rapid approach for producing large 3D brain maps without sectioning. Here we demonstrate the use of synchrotron X-ray microtomography (µCT) for producing mesoscale (~1 µm 3 resolution) brain maps from millimeter-scale volumes of mouse brain. We introduce a pipeline for µCT-based brain mapping that develops and integrates methods for sample preparation, imaging, and automated segmentation of cells, blood vessels, and myelinated axons, in addition to statistical analyses of these brain structures. Our results demonstrate that X-ray tomography achieves rapid quantification of large brain volumes, complementing other brain mapping and connectomics efforts.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Northwestern Univ., Chicago, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Inst. of Health (NIH) (United States); Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) (United States); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1627926
Journal Information:
eNeuro, Journal Name: eNeuro Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 4; ISSN 2373-2822
Publisher:
Society for Neuroscience.Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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High-resolution synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography as a tool to unveil the three-dimensional neuronal architecture of the brain journal August 2018
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Micro-computed tomography as a platform for exploring Drosophila development journal November 2019
Three-dimensional virtual histology of human cerebellum by X-ray phase-contrast tomography text January 2018
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