Following the success of our on-line atlas of the sheep brain, first presented at Slice of Life 2000, we have now prepared corresponding atlases of two more brains. The sheep brain atlas has been used in dozens of undergraduate courses in institutions in the United States, and Canada. The two new atlases, of brains of humans and of bottlenose dolphins, should be similarly useful. These new atlases include magnetic resonance images (MRI) along with corresponding images of stained sections from the combined brain collections of the National Museum of Health and Medicine of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin. Navigation aids make it possible to move through successive sections, in any of the series, step by step, or continuously in movie format. They also enable showing and hiding labels at will, and changing from one stain (for cell bodies) to another (for fiber tracts), or to MRI images or to images of the 3-dimensional location in the brain. We have successfully used the human atlas in our medical and graduate school courses at Michigan State University. Images from the atlases can be readily downloaded for use in preparation of classroom materials or for student projects. All of the atlases, available freely on-line at http://www.brains.rad.msu.edu, are in constant development, and we eagerly seek comments, criticisms, and ideas for further improvements. At this meeting we will demonstrate, and invite participants to try out, all three atlases. Supported by grants 9812712, 9814911, and 9814912 from the National Science Foundation Division of Integrative Biology and Neuroscience.

BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:

Participants can try out a valuable resource for instruction and study of neuroanatomy in three contrasting species. They can also obtain and contribute ideas for easily navigated interactive presentations of detailed sequential arrays of biological images.

John I. Johnson
Radiology Department
A519 East Fee Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1316
Phone: 517-353-3852
Fax: 517-432-2443
Email: johnij@aol.com
Website: http://www.brains.rad.msu.edu

CO-AUTHORS:
Keith D. Sudheimer
Radiology Department
A519 East Fee Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1316
Phone: 1. 517-353-3852
Fax: 1. 517-432-2443
Email: 1. sudheime@msu.edu
Website: 1. http://www.brains.rad.msu.edu

Brian M. Winn
Communications Technology Laboratory, Department of Telecommunication, 420 Comm Arts Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: 517-432-4496
Fax: 517-353-5498
Email: winnb@msu.edu
http://dmat.msu.edu
http://commtechlab.msu.edu
http://mig.msu.edu/: