Visualizing in vivo brain neural structures using volume rendered feature spaces.

Background: Dendrites of cortical neurons are widely spread across several layers of the cortex. Recently developed two-photon microscopy systems are capable of visualizing the morphology of neurons within deeper layers of the brain and generate large amounts of volumetric imaging data from living tissue.

Method: For visual exploration of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of dendrites and the connectivity among neurons in the brain, we propose a visualization software and interface for 3D images based on a new transfer function design using volume rendered feature spaces.