Resources in 2014

Brain transcriptomics is limited by existing annotations of expressed gene products. Here the authors identify differentially expressed regions of the genome across development and aging in the human brain. These transcripts were developmentally conserved across the human and mouse and enriched for genetic variants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Based on single cell RNA-sequencing of 622 adult mouse sensory neurons, Usoskin et al. performed unbiased classification to identify the cellular and molecular complexity underlying somatic sensation. Eleven different subtypes were identified, including some previously unknown populations such as a new class of neuron which may be sensitive to inflammatory itch.

This Resource article provides detailed expression data from the striatum and cerebral cortex of early prenatal human samples, ranging in age from 2 to 20 weeks post-conception. Using a number of different analyses, the authors describe the transcriptional, spatio-temporal expression and functional profile that distinguish human striatal from neocortical neurons while also elucidating some differences between human and mouse striatal development.

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) are genomic regions that regulate gene expression. Here the authors provide a publicly available data set of exon-level eQTLs across the human brain. This includes many genome-wide association study (GWAS) hits for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

In this resource, the authors provide a comprehensive map of the thalamocortical projections in the mouse brain. To do this, they employed 254 highly overlapping injections of viral vectors to label and characterize long-range projections. Using this map as a framework, the authors determine the functionality of a subset of these connections via expression and activation of channelrhodopsin.