Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals input-dependent area identity. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38658747/)

These scientists wanted to understand how different parts of the brain, specifically the cerebral cortex, are organized and how they develop. The cerebral cortex is like the brain's command center, and it is made up of different types of brain cells that have unique gene expressions. These cells are organized into specific areas that have their own characteristics like how they look, how they are connected to each other, and how active they are.

To study this, the scientists used a special technique called BARseq, which allowed them to look at the gene expression of over 100 different genes in millions of brain cells at a very detailed level. They looked at the brains of mice and examined the gene expressions in different areas of the cerebral cortex.

By looking at the gene expressions, the scientists found that the patterns of gene activity in the brain cells were related to the specific areas of the brain they were in. They also discovered that areas of the brain with similar gene expression patterns were also connected in similar ways, forming what they called 'cortical modules'.

To understand how these gene expression patterns develop, the scientists studied how the brain changes after a specific type of surgery called neonatal binocular enucleation, which involves removing both eyes. They found that this surgery caused the gene expression patterns in the visual areas of the brain to shift towards neighboring areas, suggesting that input from the eyes helps shape the gene expression patterns in the brain.

Overall, this study showed that gene expression plays a key role in how the brain is organized and develops, and the scientists hope that their findings will help us better understand the brain and how it works.

Chen X., Fischer S., Rue MCP., Zhang A., Mukherjee D., Kanold PO., Gillis J., Zador AM. Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals input-dependent area identity. Nature. 2024 Apr 24. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07221-6.