Neuroimaging Resources

Download the Pig Brain Atlas

These downloads include multiple versions of a three-dimensional MRI-based brain atlas of the domesticated pig (Sus scrofa domestica), featuring averaged brain atlases, labeled regions of interest, tissue probability maps, and a fractional anisotropy template.

Descriptions of downloadable file contents can be found at the bottom of the page.

Released on 7/21/2023

These are the latest 4-week-old and 12-week-old brain atlases available. They each have 30 labeled regions of interest and 4 tissue probability maps. Discrepancies across the various thresholds, combined maps, and tissue probability maps in v2.0 were addressed in this update.

Released on 4/1/2021 

These are an updated 4-week-old atlas (from v1.2) and the first available 12-week-old brain atlas; each with 26 labeled regions of interest and 4 tissue probability maps.

Read the article.

Released on 12/12/2016

The original 4-week-old atlas file that includes tissue segmentation nifty (.nii) files. 

Read the article.

version 1.2 atlas brain map for 4-week pigs.

DOWNLOAD v1.2 4-week-old Pig Atlas

Download the pigBET Skull Stripping Software

Released on 6/29/2025

An automated deep learning-based framework for multimodal and longitudinal MRI brain segmentation. Model works for segmenting the brain of pigs, adult humans, and mice.

Read the article.

The pigBet logo

ACCESS the pigBET github repository

Pig Brain Atlas File Contents

The averaged brain atlas image file.

Version 2.1 Updates:

4-week atlas

  • A threshold of 200 was applied to remove excess matter.

12-week atlas

  • A threshold of 600 was applied to remove excess matter.
  • Cropped & centered.

Version 1.2:

  • File referred to as Piglet_Averaged_Brain.nii.

 

This folder contains binary image files of twenty-six to thirty ROI provided at three different thresholds, 0% [ROI_thr0], 25% [ROI_thr25], and 50% [ROI_thr50].

Version 2.1 Updates:

Both 4-week & 12-week ages

  • Now contains 30 ROI, including the following additional regions: Nucleus Accumbens, Putamen, Substantia Nigra, & Third Ventricle.
  • Corrected discrepancies (i.e. inconsistent values across thresholds & orientation issues) across the 3 different thresholds. 

12-week age

  • All ROIs were cropped & centered.

Version 1.2:

  • Folder referred to as ROI_Labels folder.

 

This folder contains images that have all the regions of interest (at the three different thresholds: 0%, 25%, & 50%) compiled. The label number for each ROI can be found in the accompanying “ROI_Labels” file.

Version 2.1 Updates:

Both 4-week & 12-week ages

  • Corrected discrepancies (i.e. inconsistent values across thresholds & orientation issues) across the 3 different thresholds.
  • New priority list for labels created.
  • A maximum likelihood approach was utilized, meaning that certain regions of lower priority are not displayed or have very few voxels in the combined maps. 
    • A full breakdown comparing number of voxels and volume of each separate ROI binary map and combined threshold map is provided in the included Excel workbook: Pig_MRI_Atlas_V2.1_ROI_and_Combined_Voxel_Volume_Comparison

 

This folder contains the tissue probability maps for segmenting the brain into gray matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, and not brain.

Version 2.1 Updates:

Both 4-week & 12-week atlases

  • An inconsistency in threshold labeling of the Not_Brain map was addressed. This map is now fully binary.

Version 1.2:

  • Raw_Tissue_Segmentation folder does not include a NotBrain map.
  • Smoothed_Tissue_Segmentation folder contains tissue probability maps that have been smoothed with a full-width at half maximum (FWHM of 1x1x1 mm).

 

This is a standard fractional anisotropy template to be used for Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS).

Version 2.1 Updates: Templates available for both 4-week and 12-week ages.

Version 1.2: No template available.

Pig Imaging Group