This Is the Largest Map of The Human Brain Ever Made

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Biotech

Context:

Researchers have created the largest atlas of human brain cells so far, revealing more than 3,000 cell types — many of which are new to science.

About the human brain atlas:

It offers a detailed snapshot of the most complex known organ.
It will aid the study of diseases, cognition and what makes us human, among other things.
Researchers have previously mapped the human brain using techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging, but this is the first atlas of the whole human brain at the single-cell level, showing its intricate molecular interactions.
Researchers have sequenced the RNA of more than 3 million individual cells from 106 locations covering the entire human brain, using tissue samples from three deceased male donors.
Their analysis documented 461 broad categories of brain cells that included more than 3,000 subtypes.
The researchers uncovered links between certain brain cell types and neuropsychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia.

About the research:

The research is part of the US National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative — Cell Census Network (BICCN), a collaboration between hundreds of scientists.
The programme’s goals include cataloguing brain cell types across humans, non-human primates and mice to improve understanding of the cellular mechanisms behind poorly understood brain disorders.
The data from the 21 studies have been made publicly available on the Neuroscience Multi-omic Archive online repository.

Brain cells:

Neurons — cells in the brain and nervous system that send and receive signals — varied widely in different parts of the brain, suggesting different functions and developmental histories. The mix of neurons and other cell types also differed across each region; some cells were only found in specific locations.
The brainstem — a relatively under-studied structure connecting the brain to the spinal cord — harbored a particularly high number of neuron types.

Gene switch:

Even the same gene in the same type of cell could have different characteristics across the brain.
Pinpointing the switches that activate or block gene expression in brain cells could be useful for diagnosing brain disorders and developing tailored treatments.
Improving understanding of how genetic switches might contribute to disease risk.
Researchers used the cell-type data to predict how the genetic switches influence gene regulation and increase the risk of neurological diseases.
- In cells called microglia, which clear away dead or damaged cells, the presence of some genetic switches was strongly linked to risks of Alzheimer’s disease.
Such findings can be used to test whether particular genes or faulty switches contribute directly to the onset of disease.

Source: Scientific American