Nature Methods, a diagram of a brain map

Over the years, a variety of "brain maps" have emerged, each focusing on different brain processes, from metabolism to cognitive function
.
While these maps are important, using them alone limits what researchers can find
from them.

Now, a team from the Montreal Institute of Neurology and other researchers have pooled more than 40 existing maps
of the brain in one place.
The database, dubbed the Neural Map, is expected to help scientists discover relationships between
different brain regions, spatial scales, patterns, and brain function.
The database provides a standardized space to view how each map compares to each other and assess the statistical significance of those comparisons to help researchers distinguish meaningful correlations from random patterns
.
The Neurograph Database also helps standardize code across maps to improve the reproducibility
of results.

The scientists published the study, "Neural Atlas: A Structural and Functional Explanation of the Brain Map," in the journal Nature Methods, and published their data
on GitHub.

"Imaging techniques are increasingly being used to generate high-resolution reference maps
of brain structure and function.
Comparing the maps generated by the experiment with these reference maps facilitates interdisciplinary scientific discovery
.
Although recent data-sharing initiatives have increased the accessibility of brain maps, data is often shared in different coordinate systems, hindering systematic and accurate comparisons," the researchers wrote
.
"Here, we introduce the Neural Map, a toolbox for accessing, transforming, and analyzing the brain's structural and functional annotations
.
We implemented the ability to generate high-quality transformations between four standard coordinate systems
.
The toolbox includes curated reference maps and biological ontologies of the human brain, such as molecular, microstructure, electrophysiology, developmental and functional ontologies
.
A set of spatial autocorrelation reserved zero models enables reliable quantitative assessment
of map similarity to maps.
Combining open access data with transparent capabilities for standardizing and comparing brain maps, neurographs provide a systematic workflow for comprehensive structural and functional annotation-rich analysis of the human brain
.
”

"Ultimately, we hope that the neural map will add spark to the analysis of the human brain map and increase the accessibility of data and software tools to people with different research interests," said
Justine Hansen, a doctoral student and co-first author of the paper.
"As the rate at which new brain maps are generated in this field continues to grow, we hope that neurographs will provide researchers with a standardized workflow to better understand what
this data can tell us about the human brain.
"

neuromaps: structural and functional interpretation of brain maps