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Genetics of the nervous system refers to the study of genetics affecting the development, physiology and functions of the nervous system and diseases thereof.
In the first comprehensive mRNA isoform atlas of the developing and adult mouse brain, we discover that region and age influence the isoform repertoire of cell subtypes. We link peak cell type regulation to the critical development period and report attenuated levels in adulthood.
RNA alternative splicing is involved in determining cell identity, but a comprehensive molecular map is missing. Here, the authors provide a human and mouse brain atlas of transcript isoforms linking them to cellular identity, brain regions and development stages.
The authors uncover extensive genetic overlap across brain structure, functional connectivity, and brain tissue composition using multivariate methods. Insights gained enhance understanding of brain biology and prediction of psychiatric conditions.
Asymmetry is a key organising principle of the brain. Here the authors leveraged rare genetic mutations to revisit structural brain asymmetry showing the planum temporale is susceptible to deletions & duplications of specific gene sets.
How genetic information in the germinal zone determines neuronal cell types is unclear. Here the authors show that MEIS2 plays an important role in determining GABAergic neuron diversity during development.
In the first comprehensive mRNA isoform atlas of the developing and adult mouse brain, we discover that region and age influence the isoform repertoire of cell subtypes. We link peak cell type regulation to the critical development period and report attenuated levels in adulthood.
Human and animal studies reveal a neurobiological pathway that connects polygenic risks and behavioural changes that are shared between schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder.
The extent to which neurogenesis occurs in adult primates is still controversial. Single-cell RNA sequencing, immunofluorescence staining, and ex vivo neurosphere culture experiments were performed using the adult macaque hippocampus. The results reveal robust adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the primate hippocampus.
Gegenhuber et al. now show that, in mice, a neonatal surge in oestradiol activates oestrogen receptor-α to drive a sustained male-typical gene expression programme that determines brain sexual differentiation.