Researchers Develop Largest Atlas of Human Brain Cells

Last week, Science, Science Advances, and Science Translational Medicine compiled an atlas of over 3,000 types of cells in the human brain. The project was a substantial undertaking that collected information from over 20 different studies.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, researchers collected information from approximately 24 studies in the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN).

“Mapping the brain’s cellular landscape is a critical step toward understanding how this vital organ works in health and disease,” said Joshua A. Gordon, MD, PhD, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a subset of the NIH, in the NIH press release. “These new detailed cell atlases of the human brain and the nonhuman primate brain offer a foundation for designing new therapies that can target the specific brain cells and circuits involved in brain disorders.” 

According to an article in Science, there are five primary themes that the articles focus on. First is using single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomic analysis to characterize human brain cells for adult human single-cell atlasing. According to the NIH press release, three studies provided the basis for the first atlas of the adult human brain.

Next, a section focuses on single-cell atlasing for adult non-human primates, predominantly concentrated on marmoset and macaque brains. The third theme focuses on a comparison between the human and non-human primate single-cell atlasing.

Additionally, one theme focuses on brain development through single-cell analysis. Finally, the last theme includes neuronal cell-type analysis and modeling, including anatomical and functional properties.

“This suite of studies represents a landmark achievement in illuminating the complexity of the human brain at the cellular level,” added John Ngai, PhD, director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative. “The scientific collaborations forged through BICCN are propelling the field forward at an exponential pace; the progress — and possibilities — have been simply breathtaking.”

The data from this compilation may become the foundation of future research on neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disease, cognition and psychiatric disease, and treatment for neurological conditions.