A brain atlas is composed of serial sections along different anatomical planes of the healthy or diseased developing or adult animal or human brain where each relevant brain structure is assigned a number of coordinates to define its outline or volume. Brain atlases are contiguous, comprehensive results of visual brain mapping and may include anatomical, genetic or functional features.[1] A functional brain atlas is made up of regions of interest, where these regions are typically defined as spatially contiguous and functionally coherent patches of gray matter.[2]
In most atlases, the three dimensions are: latero-lateral (x), dorso-ventral (y) and rostro-caudal (z). The possible sections are
Surface maps are sometimes used in addition to the 3D serial section maps[3]
Besides the human brain,[4] brain atlases exist for the brains of the mouse,[5] rhesus macaques,[6] Drosophila,[7] pig[8] and others.
Notable examples include the Allen Brain Atlas, BrainMaps, BigBrain, Infant Brain Atlas,[9] and the work of the International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM).