An fMRI data analysis platform for the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)

Complex cognition is fundamental to animal survival and reproduction, and understanding its neural mechanisms remains a central goal in neuroscience. Birds exhibiting advanced cognitive abilities provide a unique model for such investigations, owing to their independent evolutionary history and markedly distinct brain architecture compared with mammals. Because complex cognitive functions rely on dynamic interactions among distributed brain-wide networks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become a promising approach for investigating these processes. However, obtaining reliable fMRI data in a species for which fMRI methodologies have not yet been established generally requires the development of a species-specific and standardized analytical framework, owing to inherent neuroanatomical differences. Here, we developed the first open-source fMRI data analysis platform for parrots, using the Budgerigar ( Melopsittacus undulatus ) as a representative model species. Specifically, we constructed a high-resolution three-dimensional brain atlas and a standardized T2-weighted structural template based on MRI data acquired from 13 individuals. Building upon these resources, we developed an integrated fMRI analysis platform that automates key processing steps from raw data to spatially normalized datasets and generates atlas-based anatomical reports for statistical results. To validate the applicability of the platform, we employed a well-established visual stimulation paradigm and demonstrated that it can detect and anatomically localize expected task-related activation within the avian visual pathway using a standardized analytical framework. Together, these resources establish an integrated analysis platform and provide a technical foundation for rigorous and reproducible whole-brain functional imaging in parrots. By facilitating standardized data processing and anatomical interpretation, this platform provides an important methodological resource for avian neuroscience and supports future comparative studies on the neural basis and evolution of complex cognition.