Generative models and abstractions for large-scale neuroanatomy datasets

Neural datasets are increasing rapidly in both resolution and volume. In neuroanatomy, this trend has been accelerated by innovations in imaging technology. As full datasets are impractical and unnecessary for many applications, it is important to identify abstractions that distill useful features of neural structure, organization, and anatomy. In this review article, we discuss several such abstractions and highlight recent algorithmic advances in working with these models. In particular, we discuss the use of generative models in neuroanatomy; such models may be considered meta-abstractions that capture distributions over other abstractions.