@article{c473a6e399074aefb3c8e59c0ab4884a,
title = "Best practices for digitally constructing endocranial casts: examples from birds and their dinosaurian relatives",
abstract = "The rapidly expanding interest in, and availability of, digital tomography data to visualize casts of the vertebrate endocranial cavity housing the brain (endocasts) presents new opportunities and challenges to the field of comparative neuroanatomy. The opportunities are many, ranging from the relatively rapid acquisition of data to the unprecedented ability to integrate critically important fossil taxa. The challenges consist of navigating the logistical barriers that often separate a researcher from high-quality data and minimizing the amount of non-biological variation expressed in endocasts – variation that may confound meaningful and synthetic results. Our purpose here is to outline preferred approaches for acquiring digital tomographic data, converting those data to an endocast, and making those endocasts as meaningful as possible when considered in a comparative context. This review is intended to benefit those just getting started in the field but also serves to initiate further discussion between active endocast researchers regarding the best practices for advancing the discipline. Congruent with the theme of this volume, we draw our examples from birds and the highly encephalized non-avian dinosaurs that comprise closely related outgroups along their phylogenetic stem lineage.",
keywords = "Aves, brain, comparative neuroanatomy, computed tomography, endocast",
author = "Balanoff, {Amy M.} and Bever, {G. S.} and Colbert, {Matthew W.} and Clarke, {Julia A.} and Field, {Daniel J.} and Gignac, {Paul M.} and Ksepka, {Daniel T.} and Ridgely, {Ryan C.} and Smith, {N. Adam} and Torres, {Christopher R.} and Stig Walsh and Witmer, {Lawrence M.}",
note = "Funding Information: This paper is a product of the Catalysis meeting {\textquoteleft}A Deeper Look into the Avian Brain: Using Modern Imaging to Unlock Ancient Endocasts{\textquoteright}, funded by The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent, NSF EF-0905606) and organized by AMB, DTK and NAS. Candace Brown, Stephanie Ribson, and Danielle Wiggins provided logistical support at NESCent. Nate Kley allowed use of the iodine-stained specimen in Fig, and UTCT provided CT data used in Fig. Lyn Merrill helped with image processing. Robin M. Jones provided graphical assistance. Mark Norell (AMNH, Division of Paleontology) and Joel Cracraft, Paul Sweet, Tom Trombone and Peter Capainola (AMNH, Division of Ornithology) allowed access to specimens. Richie Abel, Dmitri Grinev and Andrew Ramsay advised on some radiographic issues. Eric Ekdale and Ted Macrini provided helpful suggestions during the review process. Research for this paper was funded by NSF DEB-1457181 grant to AMB, GSB, and PMG, NSF EAGER 1450850 to PMG, and NSF IBN-0343744, IOB-0517257, and IOS-1050154 to LMW and RCR. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2015 Anatomical Society",
year = "2016",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/joa.12378",
language = "English",
volume = "229",
pages = "173--190",
journal = "Journal of Anatomy",
issn = "0021-8782",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",
number = "2",
}