Alexandro Arnal

Automatically Parcellating the Rat Brain

We use computer vision to segment rat brain regions from images of tissue sections stained for Nissl substance. Our practical goal is to deploy a method to parcellate brain tissue for neuroscience studies. The theoretical goal is to learn what features are important to a computer when segmenting brain regions. The computer vision methods are optimized by comparing their output with expert–drawn masks that delineate brain region boundaries in accordance with a standardized rat brain atlas, such as Brain Maps 4.0 .

Atlas–Based Mapping

We are exploring methods to visualize and analyze data that has been mapped to a standardized atlas, like Brain Maps 4.0. Often, rigorous benchmark standards to digitally document ground truth, such as atlas–based mapping, do not take full advantage of the digital format of the data. Mapped data such as tracer injections sites, cell body positions, and fiber tracings (as shown above) can be quantified and analyzed in new ways inside the atlas the data is mapped to.

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Life Drawings

I was walking down the halls of EPCC Valle Verde Campus during the fall semester before the pandemic, and I saw a series of life drawings mounted on the walls. As I walked down, I could feel myself move across the room in the drawings as the perspective of the individual artists changed. I then thought it would be a good idea to digitize each drawing and create a GIF of the series to capture that feeling of moving in the room. A year later I sought out to find the professor of the course and reached out with the idea. Last month he sent me the images of a few series and these are the results. Also, check out their virtual hall for more student art.

The de Arnal Gallery

I am playing artist's assistant helping my uncle get his work known. I know very little of serious art and the world that comes with it. Nonetheless, I do not doubt his abilities, and I am excited for those who will know Eugenio de Arnal (and frankly the entire artistic arsenal that is the Arnal family).