•  Atlases capturing detailed anatomy of the infant brain provide a spatial reference space for quantifying early brain development by consolidating and comparing brain features from a population of individuals. 

• However, the lack of high-quality MRI data for infants hinders the construction of atlases that preserve spatiotemporal patterns of brain development from birth to age 2. Moreover, the brain features captured by existing atlases are typically limited, giving an incomplete outlook of early brain development.

• To overcome these limitations, we created month-specific brain atlases of infants 2 weeks to 2 years of age, combining features of cortical surfaces and image volumes in a common space. For this we utilized high-quality longitudinal brain MRI data collected as part of the UNC/UMN Baby Connectome Project (BCP). 

• The infant brain atlas (IBA) at each month preserves cortical geometries and tissue properties, with developmental scheduling and left-right lateralization of cortical attributes.

• IBA will facilitate the development of neuroimaging-based growth models of human infants, instrumental for investigating brain development and discovering growth anomalies in early stages of life. 

• We make these atlases available at https://iba.yaplab.io and Zenodo: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7044932 . 

Research article

Ahmad, S., et al. Multifaceted atlases of the human brain in its infancy. Nat Methods 20, 55–64 (2023). 

doi.org/10.1038/s41592-022-01703-z 

Research briefing

Digital brain atlases reveal postnatal development to 2 years of age in human infants. Nat Methods 20, 38–39 (2023). 

doi.org/10.1038/s41592-022-01704-y