Scientists have released a series of studies comparing a key region of the human, monkey and mouse brains cell by cell. Scientists at the Allen Institute in Seattle played a central role in 17 studies published today in the international journal Nature.
These data provide the most comprehensive and detailed Atlas of any part of the mammalian brain published so far.
The brain cell map in the primary motor cortex (the part of the brain that controls movement) involves hundreds of researchers who are part of the National Institutes of health brain initiative cell census network (biccn).
Allen Institute for brain science led three of the nine large grants funded by the project.
“The hope of these studies is that through the basic classification of cell types, we can lay the foundation for understanding the cellular basis of diseases,” ed lein, senior researcher and chief researcher of the Allen Institute of brain sciences, said in a statement. Such diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other diseases involving degeneration of neurons that control movement.
Previous research at the Allen Institute included a high-resolution three-dimensional map showing the connections between 200000 vision related cells in the mouse brain, about the size of a grain of sand.
This new study examines brain cells from the inside and outside. The scientists evaluated factors such as cell shape, which genes are turned on and off, the electrical properties of cells and how they are connected to each other.
Scientists at the Allen Institute for brain science led or co led six published studies and played a role in three others. The main findings and results of the study led by Allen researchers include:
Most motor cortical brain cells have similar counterparts in all three species. But there are some key differences. For example, humans have more than twice as many neurons involved in excitatory signals as mice.
Compared with rodents, the second and third neocortex of humans and other primates are more complex. In primates, the region is larger and the cell diversity is greater.
The researchers provided a complete three-dimensional whole brain reconstruction of 1700 neurons in the mouse brain.
The scientists also obtained information about the cell types of mouse primary motor cortex and detected a series of genes expressed in about 500000 neurons and other brain cells.