1. Best Representation of the Human Connectome
2. Best Abstract Brain Illustration
3. Best Humorous Brain Illustration
4. Special Topic: Best Visualization of Probabilistic Connectivity
5. Best Video Illustration of the Brain

Congratulations to the winners:

Best Abstract Brain Illustration

The Isle of Cortica Richard Roche, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare, Ireland

Best Representation of the Human Connectome

Wired up Inga Popesko, Independent researcher, Kiev, Ukraine CONNECTIONS (CONNEXIONS) AmanPreet Badhwar, PhD, CRIUGM, Université de Montréal

Best Humorous Brain Illustration

Just like a barcode Sebastien Dery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University

Best Video Illustration of the Brain

The Art of MR. Staging the Connectome 7T. Katja Heuer, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Special Topic: Best Visualization of Probabilistic Connectivity

Heart of the Brain Chris Steele, MPI Leipzig Note on Licensing: All submissions to the Brain Art Competition 2014 are the artists' own work, and protected under the following Creative Commons license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Best Representation of the Human Connectome

Best Abstract Brain Illustration

Best Humorous Brain Illustration

Special Topic: Best Visualization of Probabilistic Connectivity

Best Video Illustration of the Brain

Fire and Wire Christoph Leuze Stanford University

In Neuroimaging we try to examine the brain by measuring the anatomy, the function and the connectivity of the brain. These three aspects are shown in the video on datasets of real Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and (in one case) Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements.
Anatomy: In the first part of the video the anatomy of the brain is represented by anatomical MRI scans where brain slices with contrast between gray and white matter and different brain regions can be seen.
Function: The difference in structure between brain regions is accompanied by differences in function. Measurement of the function is shown in the second part of the video on functional MRI and time-resolved MEG measurements. These show areas of the brain like the auditory cortex and functional networks that are active during language processing.
Connectivity: After having measured the anatomy and function of the brain, the third big question is the connectivity within the brain and the physical connections between different brain regions. This is represented in the third part of the video where the direction of fiber connections is measured by diffusion weighted MRI experiments, allowing us to assess the existence and direction of large fiber bundles within the brain.

Wired Up - The Brain And Its Connections Stephanie Forkel University of London

A 3D journey through brain covering gross (surface), sectional (cuts along the three principle planes), and connectional (white matter) anatomy. The video shows high resolution T1-weighted images, diffusion-weighted images, and virtual tractography reconstructions of the human connectome.

Integrated Circuit 360 Gabriel Girard Université de Sherbrooke

Tractography is the algorithmic procedure that estimates white matter pathways using directional information from diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Tractography produces a sequence of tri-dimensional spatial points called a streamline. A streamline represents an estimate of the link between two anatomically connected brain regions. The video "Integrated Circuit 360" shows thousands of these streamlines. They are colored by the local average length of streamlines (low: light gray, medium: gray, high: black). Transparency is applied following the local average length, making longer streamlines appear through shorter streamlines. In the end, the video shows the estimated connectivity of the brain with emphasis on the length aspect of the streamlines distribution.

The Art of MR. Staging the Connectome 7T. Katja Heuer Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

This interactive installation uses high resolution state-of-the-art data derived from a magnetic resonance imaging system at a field strength of 7 Tesla. The diffusion MR data are presented in a dark cube with the help of five projectors showing the according slices on the walls that surround the user in a very direct coupling of user movement and slice transition—it feels like walking through your own brain: The coronal slice on the wall opposite of the entrance; the sagittal slices at the walls to your left and right, respectively; and the axial slices on ceiling and floor. An Xbox Kinect tracks the position of your head inside the cube and according to its position in the room the corresponding slices are shown. In this visualization format you can explore neuroscientific data in a very beautiful and intuitive way—the proportions of the brain are respected and directly translate into the virtual brain space of approximately 3.5 by 2.5 by 2.5 meters.

Inside the connectome Alfred Anwander Max Planck Institut for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

The video shows the 3D reconstruction of the major long range fiber fascicles in a dynamic and aesthetic representation. The unusual close-up view from inside the brain gives new insights in the spatial relation between the different fascicles and allows a fascinating view form a new perspective. The data shows reconstructed structures from a single brain measures by diffusion MRI. The animation was produced with brainGL http://braingl.googlecode.com.

Slicing the connectome – Video Alfred Anwander Max Planck Institut for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Diffusion tractography produces a dense reconstruction of fiber pathways. The representation of thin slices of transparent streamlines allows new and esthetic insights in a probabilistic reconstruction of the brain connectivity. The video shows a coronal, sagittal and axial slicing of streamlines reconstructed from in vivo high resolution diffusion measurement at 7 Tesla and visualized with BrainGL.