A cellular resolution atlas of Broca's area

Sci Adv. 2023 Oct 13;9(41):eadg3844. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adg3844. Epub 2023 Oct 12.

Abstract

Brain cells are arranged in laminar, nuclear, or columnar structures, spanning a range of scales. Here, we construct a reliable cell census in the frontal lobe of human cerebral cortex at micrometer resolution in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-referenced system using innovative imaging and analysis methodologies. MRI establishes a macroscopic reference coordinate system of laminar and cytoarchitectural boundaries. Cell counting is obtained with a digital stereological approach on the 3D reconstruction at cellular resolution from a custom-made inverted confocal light-sheet fluorescence microscope (LSFM). Mesoscale optical coherence tomography enables the registration of the distorted histological cell typing obtained with LSFM to the MRI-based atlas coordinate system. The outcome is an integrated high-resolution cellular census of Broca's area in a human postmortem specimen, within a whole-brain reference space atlas.

MeSH terms

  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Mapping
  • Broca Area*
  • Cerebral Cortex*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods