Researchers have mapped 25.5 million individual brain cells across humans and primates, revealing a rare neuron subtype linked to genetic risk factors for schizophrenia.
The findings form part of a comprehensive 3D cellular atlas of the basal ganglia published on Nov. 12 in the journal Cell.
The new dataset includes 21.0 million human cells, 3.0 million macaque cells, and 1.5 million common marmoset cells (National Geographic España). The basal ganglia are structures situated in the center of the human brain that are no larger than two grapes and are essential for voluntary movement, decision-making, and generating feelings (EL PAÍS).
Disfunctions in this region contribute to numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia (Yahoo). The project was carried out by hundreds of scientists worldwide as part of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (National Geographic España).
“Un diagnóstico de esquizofrenia o trastorno bipolar continúa siendo una condena devastadora para toda la vida; las personas con enfermedades neurodegenerativas también sufren enormemente y, por desgracia, mueren de forma prematura a causa de ellas.”
said Evan Macosko, associate professor of psychiatry and neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the new map (EL PAÍS).
“Esta región del cerebro es la gran estación central de las enfermedades cerebrales de ambos ámbitos.”
added Macosko (EL PAÍS).
Researchers analyzed not only active genes within each cell, but also the epigenetic mechanisms regulating them, their morphology, exact spatial coordinates, and electrical activity (EL PAÍS). Margarita Behrens, a researcher at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, said that the atlas provides a new window to the brain (Yahoo).
“El atlas ofrece una nueva ventana al cerebro a través de la cual los científicos podrán identificar y localizar con precisión cada célula de los ganglios basales humanos,” said Behrens (Yahoo).
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