The Digital Brain Bank, an open access platform for post-mortem datasets

• Authors: Benjamin C Tendler, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Taylor Hanayik, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Olaf Ansorge, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Sarah Bangerter-Christensen, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Gregory Berns, Emory University; Mads F Bertelsen, Centre for Zoo and Wild Animal Health; Katherine L Bryant, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Sean Foxley, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Martijn P van den Heuvel, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Amy FD Howard, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Istvan N Huszar, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Alexandre A Khrapitchev, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Anna Leonte, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Paul R Manger, University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences; Ricarda AL Menke, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Jeroen Mollink, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Duncan Mortimer, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Menuka Pallebage-Gamarallage, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Lea Roumazeilles, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Jerome Sallet, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Lianne H Scholtens, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Connor Scott, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Adele Smart, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Martin R Turner, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Chaoyue Wang, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Saad Jbabdi, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Rogier B Mars, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division; Karla L Miller, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division
• Journal Title: eLife
• Volume: Volume 11
• Publisher: (publisher) | 2022-03-01
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.73153
• Keywords: MRI; Microscopy; comparative neuroanatomy; data resource; human; human neuroanatomy; neuropathology; neuroscience; post-mortem; Access to Information; Animals; Autopsy; Brain; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuroimaging

Abstract

Post-mortem MRI provides the opportunity to acquire high-resolution datasets to investigate neuroanatomy, and validate the origins of image contrast through microscopy comparisons. We introduce the Digital Brain Bank (open.win.ox.ac.uk/DigitalBrainBank), a data release platform providing open access to curated, multimodal post-mortem neuroimaging datasets. Datasets span three themes-Digital Neuroanatomist: datasets for detailed neuroanatomical investigations; Digital Brain Zoo: datasets for comparative neuroanatomy; Digital Pathologist: datasets for neuropathology investigations. The first Digital Brain Bank release includes twenty one distinctive whole-brain diffusion MRI datasets for structural connectivity investigations, alongside microscopy and complementary MRI modalities. This includes one of the highest-resolution whole-brain human diffusion MRI datasets ever acquired, whole-brain diffusion MRI in fourteen non-human primate species, and one of the largest post-mortem whole-brain cohort imaging studies in neurodegeneration. The Digital Brain Bank is the culmination of our lab’s investment into post-mortem MRI methodology and MRI-microscopy analysis techniques. This manuscript provides a detailed overview of our work with post-mortem imaging to date, including the development of diffusion MRI methods to image large post-mortem samples, including whole, human brains. Taken together, the Digital Brain Bank provides cross-scale, cross-species datasets facilitating the incorporation of post-mortem data into neuroimaging studies.