MRI of postmortem specimens of endangered species for comparative brain anatomy
MRI of postmortem specimens of endangered species for comparative brain anatomy
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DOI：
10.1038/nprot.2008.17
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发表时间：
2008-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
14.8
通讯作者：
Kubke, M. Fabiana
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Corfield, Jeremy R.;Wild, J. Martin;Kubke, M. Fabiana
在全世界发现的5500种濒危脊椎动物中，有许多受到高度保护，通常无法进行科学调查。在这里，我们描述了一种非侵入性的方案，以可视化脑的结构和大小在死后标本。我们通过研究四种濒临灭绝的猕猴桃（Apteryx spp.）来证明它的效用。冷冻标本解冻后使用核磁共振成像成像，揭示大脑结构的内部细节。通过创建3D模型，可以可靠地获得外部脑形态和脑容量的估计。这种方法有助于比较不同种类的猕猴桃的大脑结构，其中一种濒临灭绝。这种新方法有可能将我们对大脑结构的了解扩展到迄今为止解剖学研究范围之外的物种。
Many of the 5,500 threatened species of vertebrates found worldwide are highly protected and generally unavailable for scientific investigation. Here we describe a noninvasive protocol to visualize the structure and size of brain in postmortem specimens. We demonstrate its utility by examining four endangered species of kiwi (Apteryx spp.). Frozen specimens are thawed and imaged using MRI, revealing internal details of brain structure. External brain morphology and an estimate of brain volume can be reliably obtained by creating 3D models. This method has facilitated a comparison of brain structure in the different kiwi species, one of which is on the brink of extinction. This new approach has the potential to extend our knowledge of brain structure to species that have until now been outside the reach of anatomical investigation.