NEUROANATOMY, DIGITAL ATLASES, AND TEMPLATES OF BRAINS OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS (CAT, DOG, PIG, HORSE and SHEEP) USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

Abstract

Over the last two decades, neuroscience has witnessed an explosion in the utilization of non-invasive imaging methods (particularly MRI) that are used to investigate to study the brain. Providing accurate and detailed imaging, MRI has a significant impact on figuring out the anatomy and functioning of the brain. In recent years, researchers studying on veterinary science have seen MRI as an indispensable tool themselves. It is essential to understand the anatomy of the normal brain in order to explain many of the pathological processes. This review focused on neuroanatomical studies, atlases and templates generated from the brains of domestic animals (cat, dog, pig, horse, donkey, cattle, sheep, goat, camel) using MRI from the 1980s to the present. Its data were summarized under three main parts. Firstly, the cross-sectional anatomy of the brain created using MRI was examined. Afterward, digital atlases and templates, which have had an essential place in modern neuroimaging analysis (such as registration, segmentation and three-dimensional reconstruction) in recent years, were summarized. Finally, in vivo or ex vivo studies in which crucial white matter tracts in the brain are three-dimensionally modeled with DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) in domestic mammals were reviewed. Several studies examining the neocortex by DTI were also included in the review in this section. There were also neuroanatomy studies conducted with MRI in several specific species in this review. In conclusion, this review focused on the importance of MRI in neuroimaging of the brain in domestic animals.