Katja Heuer

Institut Pasteur · Department of Neuroscience

The anatomical wiring of the brain is a central focus in network neuroscience. Diffusion MRI tractography offers the unique opportunity to investigate the brain fiber architecture in vivo and non invasively. However, its reliability is still highly debated. Here, we explored the ability of diffusion MRI tractography to match invasive anatomical tra...

During the short period of brain development, nature is able to build the only system we know capable of producing cognition, language, creativity, and consciousness. The neocortex – the outermost layer of the mammalian cerebrum – appears to be the biological substrate of these abilities. Its development requires not only the precise placement and...

We present a comparative analysis of cerebral size and neocortical folding. Magnetic resonance imaging data was collected from 54 individuals belonging to 33 different primate species. We measured several neocortical folding parameters and studied their evolution using phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results suggest that the most likely model...

The reciprocal connections between the cerebellum and the cerebrum have been suggested to simultaneously play a role in brain size increase and to support a broad array of brain functions in primates. The cerebello-cerebral system has undergone marked functionally relevant reorganization. In particular, the lateral cerebellar lobules crura I-II (th...

The process of brain folding is thought to play an important role in the development and organisation of the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The study of cerebellar folding is challenging due to the small size and abundance of its folia. In consequence, little is known about its anatomical diversity and evolution. We constituted an open collection of...

Fossil endocasts record features of brains from the past: size, shape, vasculature, and gyrification. These data, alongside experimental and comparative evidence, are needed to resolve questions about brain energetics, cognitive specializations, and developmental plasticity. Through the application of interdisciplinary techniques to the fossil reco...

Studies in comparative neuroanatomy and of the fossil record demonstrate the influence of socio-ecological niches on the morphology of the cerebral cortex, but have led to oftentimes conflicting theories about its evolution. Here, we study the relationship between the shape of the cerebral cortex and the topography of its function. We establish a j...

The cerebellum has increasingly been recognized for its role in diverse functional processes. The reciprocal cerebello-cerebral system may scaffold both brain size increase and advanced associative abilities, evolving highly coordinately in primates. In parallel, functional cerebello-cerebral modules have undergone reorganization and cerebellar lob...

The process of brain folding is thought to play an important role in the development and organisation of the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The study of cerebellar folding is challenging due to the small size and abundance of its folia. In consequence, little is known about its anatomical diversity and evolution. We constituted an open collection of...

The longstanding idea that the cerebral cortex is the main neural correlate of human cognition can be elaborated by comparative analyses along the vertebrate phylogenetic tree that support the view that the cerebello-cerebral system is suited to support non-motor functions more generally. In humans, diverse accounts have illustrated cerebellar invo...

Over the past few decades, neuroimaging has become a ubiquitous tool in basic research and clinical studies of the human brain. However, no reference standards currently exist to quantify individual differences in neuroimaging metrics over time, in contrast to growth charts for anthropometric traits such as height and weight ¹ . Here we assemble an...

MRI has been extensively used to identify anatomical and functional differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Yet, many of these findings have proven difficult to replicate because studies rely on small cohorts and are built on many complex, undisclosed, analytic choices. We conducted an international challenge to predict ASD diagnosis from MR...

MRI has been extensively used to identify anatomical and functional differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Yet, many of these findings have proven difficult to replicate because studies rely on small cohorts and are built on many complex, undisclosed, analytic choices. We conducted an international challenge to predict ASD diagnosis from MR...

Open science initiatives are creating opportunities to increase research coordination and impact in nonhuman primate (NHP) imaging. The PRIMatE Data and Resource Exchange community recently developed a collaboration-based strategic plan to advance NHP imaging as an integrative approach for multiscale neuroscience.

As the global health crisis unfolded, many academic conferences moved online in 2020. This move has been hailed as a positive step towards inclusivity in its attenuation of economic, physical, and legal barriers and effectively enabled many individuals from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented to join and participate. A number of st...

White matter bundle segmentation using diffusion MRI fiber tractography has become the method of choice to identify white matter fiber pathways in vivo in human brains. However, like other analyses of complex data, there is considerable variability in segmentation protocols and techniques. This can result in different reconstructions of the same in...

Over the past 25 years, neuroimaging has become a ubiquitous tool in basic research and clinical studies of the human brain. However, there are no reference standards against which to anchor measures of individual differences in brain morphology, in contrast to growth charts for traits such as height and weight. Here, we built an interactive online...

Brainhack is an innovative meeting format that promotes scientific collaboration and education in an open, inclusive environment. This NeuroView describes the myriad benefits for participants and the research community and how Brainhacks complement conventional formats to augment scientific progress.

The move from in-person to online scientific conferences due to the global health crisis has been hailed as a positive step towards inclusivity in its attenuation of economic, physical and legal barriers. Yet pre-existing and new challenges to truly inclusive conference experiences remain unaddressed. While acknowledging the benefits of an online s...

Brainhack is an innovative meeting format that promotes scientific collaboration and education in an open and inclusive environment. Departing from the formats of typical scientific workshops, these events are based on grassroots projects and training, and foster open and reproducible scientific practices. We describe here the multifaceted, lasting...

Evolution, as we currently understand it, strikes a delicate balance between animals’ ancestral history and adaptations to their current niche. Similarities between species are generally considered inherited from a common ancestor whereas observed differences are considered as more recent evolution. Hence comparing species can provide insights into...

White matter bundle segmentation using diffusion MRI fiber tractography has become the method of choice to identify white matter fiber pathways in vivo in human brains. However, like other analyses of complex data, there is considerable variability in segmentation protocols and techniques. This can result in different reconstructions of the same in...

Neuroimaging non-human primates (NHPs) is a growing, yet highly specialized field of neuroscience. Resources that were primarily developed for human neuroimaging often need to be significantly adapted for use with NHPs or other animals, which has led to an abundance of custom, in-house solutions. In recent years, the global NHP neuroimaging communi...

Reorient (https://neuroanatomy.github.io/reorient) is an open source Web application for the manual alignment and cropping of MRI nifti volumes in an intuitive way. The MRI data is dragged onto the Web interface and visualised in an interactive stereotaxic viewer. Users can then translate and rotate the brain by simply dragging inside the 3 view pl...

White matter bundle segmentation using diffusion MRI fiber tractography has become the method of choice to identify white matter fiber pathways in vivo in human brains. However, like other analyses of complex data, there is considerable variability in segmentation protocols and techniques. This can result in different reconstructions of the same in...

Neuroimaging non-human primates (NHPs) is a growing, yet highly specialized field of neuroscience. Resources that were primarily developed for human neuroimaging often need to be significantly adapted for use with NHPs or other animals, which has led to an abundance of custom, in-house solutions. In recent years, the global NHP neuroimaging communi...

Evolution, as we currently understand it, strikes a delicate balance between animals' ancestral history and adaptations to their current niche. Similarities between species are generally considered inherited from a common ancestor whereas observed differences are considered more recent occurrences. Hence comparing species can provide insights into...

Nonhuman primate neuroimaging is on the cusp of a transformation, much in the same way its human counterpart was in 2010, when the Human Connectome Project was launched to accelerate progress. Inspired by an open data-sharing initiative, the global community recently met and, in this article, breaks through obstacles to define its ambitions.

The use of specific preservative solutions by museum professionals to maintain fluid-preserved specimens has fluctuated over the years with advances in chemistry. The determining factors for the original choice of solution closely correlate with the historical parameters and original usage of the collections. Consequently, for any given collection,...

The anatomical wiring of the brain is a central focus in network neuroscience. Diffusion MRI tractography offers the unique opportunity to investigate the brain fiber architecture in vivo and non invasively. However, its reliability is still highly debated. Here, we explored the ability of diffusion MRI tractography to match invasive anatomical tra...

During the short period of brain development, nature is able to build the only system we know capable of producing cognition, language, creativity, and consciousness. The neocortex-the outermost layer of the mammalian cerebrum-appears to be the biological substrate of these abilities. Its development requires not only the precise placement and wiri...