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Spatially resolved transcriptomics in neuroscience

Nature Methods volume 18, pages 23–25 (2021)Cite this article

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One major challenge in neuroscience is to gain a systematic understanding of the extraordinary diversity of brain cell types and how they contribute to brain function. Spatially resolved transcriptomics holds unmatched promise in unraveling the organization of brain cell types and their relationship with connectivity, circuit dynamics, behavior and disease. Here we discuss neuroscience applications of various spatially resolved transcriptomics methods, as well as technical challenges that need to be overcome to realize their full potentials.

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Fig. 1: Cell type mapping with spatially resolved transcriptomics.
Fig. 2: Spatially resolved transcriptomics linking transcriptomic cell types with connectivity and circuit function.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Allen Institute for Brain Science and by grant U19MH114830 from the National Institute of Mental Health to H.Z. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIH and its subsidiary institutes. The authors wish to thank the Allen Institute founder, Paul G. Allen, for his vision, encouragement and support.

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  1. Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jennie L. Close, Brian R. Long & Hongkui Zeng

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  1. Jennie L. Close
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  2. Brian R. Long
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  3. Hongkui Zeng
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Correspondence to Hongkui Zeng.

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Close, J.L., Long, B.R. & Zeng, H. Spatially resolved transcriptomics in neuroscience. Nat Methods 18, 23–25 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-020-01040-z

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