BrainNet Viewer: a network visualization tool for human brain connectomics.
PLoS ONE. 2013;8(7):e68910 DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0068910
Journal Title: PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203 (Online)
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
LCC Subject Category: Medicine | Science
Country of publisher: United States
Language of fulltext: English
Full-text formats available: PDF, HTML, XML
AUTHORS
Mingrui Xia
Jinhui Wang
Yong He
EDITORIAL INFORMATION
Time From Submission to Publication: 24 weeks
Abstract | Full Text
The human brain is a complex system whose topological organization can be represented using connectomics. Recent studies have shown that human connectomes can be constructed using various neuroimaging technologies and further characterized using sophisticated analytic strategies, such as graph theory. These methods reveal the intriguing topological architectures of human brain networks in healthy populations and explore the changes throughout normal development and aging and under various pathological conditions. However, given the huge complexity of this methodology, toolboxes for graph-based network visualization are still lacking. Here, using MATLAB with a graphical user interface (GUI), we developed a graph-theoretical network visualization toolbox, called BrainNet Viewer, to illustrate human connectomes as ball-and-stick models. Within this toolbox, several combinations of defined files with connectome information can be loaded to display different combinations of brain surface, nodes and edges. In addition, display properties, such as the color and size of network elements or the layout of the figure, can be adjusted within a comprehensive but easy-to-use settings panel. Moreover, BrainNet Viewer draws the brain surface, nodes and edges in sequence and displays brain networks in multiple views, as required by the user. The figure can be manipulated with certain interaction functions to display more detailed information. Furthermore, the figures can be exported as commonly used image file formats or demonstration video for further use. BrainNet Viewer helps researchers to visualize brain networks in an easy, flexible and quick manner, and this software is freely available on the NITRC website (www.nitrc.org/projects/bnv/).