TemplateFlow: FAIR-sharing of multi-scale, multi-species brain models

Abstract

Reference anatomies of the brain ('templates') and corresponding atlases are the foundation for reporting standardized neuroimaging results. Currently, there is no registry of templates and atlases; therefore, the redistribution of these resources occurs either bundled within existing software or in ad hoc ways such as downloads from institutional sites and general-purpose data repositories. We introduce TemplateFlow as a publicly available framework for human and non-human brain models. The framework combines an open database with software for access, management, and vetting, allowing scientists to share their resources under FAIR-findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable-principles. TemplateFlow enables multifaceted insights into brains across species, and supports multiverse analyses testing whether results generalize across standard references, scales, and in the long term, species.

Fig. 1. Representative views of 25 templates currently available in the TemplateFlow Archive, including 13 templates from the MNI portfolio (blue).

WHS, Fischer344, RESILIENT, and MouseIn are rodent templates. fsaverage and fsLR are surface templates; the remaining templates are volumetric. Each template is distributed with atlas labels, segmentations, and metadata files.

Fig. 2. TemplateFlow implements the FAIR guiding principles.

The TemplateFlow Archive can be accessed at a ‘low’ level with DataLad, or at a ‘high’ level with a Python client. New resources can be added through the Manager command-line interface, which initiates a peer-review process before acceptance in the Archive.