Rat brain digital stereotaxic white matter atlas with fine tract delineation in Paxinos space and its automated applications in DTI data analysis.

PURPOSE: To automatically analyze diffusion tensor images of the rat brain via both voxel-based and ROI-based approaches, we constructed a new white matter atlas of the rat brain with fine tracts delineation in the Paxinos and Watson space.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unlike in previous studies, we constructed a digital atlas image from the latest edition of the Paxinos and Watson. This atlas contains 111 carefully delineated white matter fibers. A white matter network of rat brain based on anatomy was constructed by locating the intersection of all these tracts and recording the nuclei on the pathway of each white matter tract. Moreover, a compatible rat brain template from DTI images was created and standardized into the atlas space. To evaluate the automated application of the atlas in DTI data analysis, a group of rats with right-side middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and those without were enrolled in this study.

RESULTS: The voxel-based analysis result shows that the brain region showing significant declines in signal in the MCAO rats was consistent with the occlusion position.

CONCLUSION: We constructed a stereotaxic white matter atlas of the rat brain with fine tract delineation and a compatible template for the data analysis of DTI images of the rat brain.