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. 2022 Mar 17;11:e73153. doi: 10.7554/eLife.73153

Table 1. Description of all datasets provided in the first release to the Digital Brain Bank.

All Structural MRI datasets in the first release were acquired using a balanced SSFP (bSSFP) or T2-weighted sequence, which yields strong gray-white matter contrast in formalin-fixed post-mortem tissue. Diffusion MRI datasets were acquired using a combination of diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession (DW-SSFP) and diffusion-weighted spin-echo (DW-SE) sequences. Full details of the motivation behind the choice of sequences and available contrasts are described in the Discussion. T2* and magnetic susceptibility maps are currently available in 9 out of 12 ALS brains and all control brains. The remaining datasets were either lost during scanner export, or are of insufficient data quality for public release.

Category Name Contents: MRI Resolution (MRI) Contents: Microscopy Relevant publications
Digital Anatomist Human High-Resolution Diffusion MRI-PLI Whole-brain diffusion MRI, structural MRI, quantitative T1 and T2 maps:
– Control human brain: 1×
Diffusion MRI: (500 μm, 1 and 2 mm iso.)
Structural MRI: 312.5×312.5×500 μm3
T1 map: (0.75×0.75×1.6 mm3)
T2 map: (0.75×0.75×1.6 mm3)
Polarised light imaging (4 μm in-plane) in the anterior commissure, corpus callosum, pons, thalamus, and visual cortex (same brain) Dataset described in this publication (Methodology in Appendix 1), Diffusion MRI processing described in Tendler et al., 2020b, T2 mapping described in Tendler et al., 2021
Digital Anatomist Human Callosum MRI-PLI-Histology Corpus callosum diffusion MRI:
– Excised control human corpus callosum samples: 3×
Diffusion MRI: (400 μm iso.) Polarised light imaging (4 μm in-plane), bright-field microscopy images of immunohistochemistry stains (0.25 μm in-plane) for PLP (myelin) and GFAP (astrocyte) (same human corpus callosum samples) Mollink et al., 2017
Whole-brain diffusion MRI and structural MRI (available in brains marked with a *):
  • Bushbaby (Galago senegalensis): 1×

  • Capuchin monkey (Sepajus apella): 1×

  • Chimpanzee* (Pan troglodytes): 2×

  • Colobus monkey (Colobus guereza): 1×

  • Cotton-Top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus): 1×

  • Golden Lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia): 1×

  • Hamadryas baboon* (Papio hamadryas): 1×

  • Macaque monkey (Macaca mulatta): 3×

  • Mangabey (Lophocebus albigena): 1×

  • Night monkey, (Aotus lemurinus): 1×

  • Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta): 3×

  • Saki monkey (Pithecia pithecia): 1×

  • Western Lowland gorilla* (Gorilla gorilla): 1×

  • Woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha): 1×

Diffusion MRI:
300 μm iso.: Bushbaby, Cotton-Top tamarin & Golden Lion Tamarin
400 μm iso: Night monkey
500 μm iso: Ring-tailed lemur and Saki monkey
600 μm iso: Capuchin monkey, Chimpanzee, Colobus monkey, Hamadryas baboon, Macaque monkey, Mangabey, Western Lowland Gorilla and Woolly Monkey
Structural MRI
200 μm iso: Western Lowland Gorilla
220 μm iso: Hamadryas Baboon
0.22×0.22×0.19 mm3: 1× Chimpanzee
0.375×0.375×0.40 mm3: 1× Chimpanzee
None 1× Western Lowland gorilla and 1× Chimpanzee described in Roumazeilles et al., 2020, 3× Macaque monkey and 3× Ring-Tailed Lemur described in Roumazeilles et al., 2021. Hamadryas baboon, Cotton-Top tamarin and Golden Lion tamarin datasets described in this publication (Methodology in Appendix 1). All other datasets described in Bryant et al., 2021
Digital Brain Zoo Marsupials Whole-brain diffusion MRI and structural MRI:
  • Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii): 2×

  • Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus): 2×

Diffusion MRI:
1 mm iso: 1× Tasmanian devil
1.5 mm iso: 1× Tasmanian devil
1.1 mm iso: 1× Thylacine
1.0×1.1×0.8 mm3: 1× Thylacine
Structural MRI
330 μm iso: 1× Tasmanian devil and 1× Thylacine
330×330×300 μm3: 1× Tasmanian devil
500 μm iso: 1× Thylacine
None Berns and Ashwell, 2017
Digital Brain Zoo Cetaceans Whole-brain diffusion MRI and structural MRI
  • Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis): 1×

  • Pantropical dolphin (Stenella attenuata): 1×

Diffusion MRI: (1.3 mm iso.)
Structural MRI: (640×640×500 μm3)
None Berns et al., 2015
Digital Brain Zoo Carnivora Whole-brain diffusion MRI and structural MRI:
– European wolf (Canis lupus): 1×
Diffusion MRI: (600 μm iso.)
Structural MRI: (220 μm iso.)
None Dataset described in this publication (Methodology in Appendix 1)
Digital Pathologist Human ALS MRI-Histology Whole-brain diffusion MRI, structural MRI, quantitative T1, T2, and T2* maps, magnetic susceptibility maps (selected brains†):
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) human brains: 12×

  • Control human brains: 3×

Diffusion MRI: (850 μm iso.)
Structural MRI: (230–250 μm in-plane; 270–500 μm slice)
T1 map: (0.65–1 mm in-plane; 0.90–1.6 mm slice)
T2 map: (0.65–1 mm in-plane; 0.90–1.6 mm slice)
T2*/magnetic susceptibility maps: (0.5 mm in-plane; 1.1–1.3 mm slice)
Bright-field microscopy immunohistochemistry stains (0.50 μm in-plane, exception pTDP43 – 0.25 μm in-plane): pTDP-43, IBA1 (pan microglia), CD68 (activated microglia/macrophages), PLP (myelin), SMI-312 (axonal phosphorylated neurofilaments), and ferritin (iron storage, subset of regions)
Regions: Anterior cingulate cortex, corpus callosum, hippocampus, primary motor cortex, and visual cortex (same brains).
Selected multimodal histology available in two brains (1× ALS and 1× Control), and multiregional PLP (available in 10 out of 12 ALS brains and all control brains, 5–8 regions per brain) in first data release – remaining histology being actively curated.
Pallebage-Gamarallage et al., 2018, Magnetic susceptibility and T2* mapping protocol described in Wang et al., 2020, Diffusion MRI processing described in Tendler et al., 2020b, T2 mapping described in Tendler et al., 2021