Genetic map of prenatal brain provides insights into psychiatric disorders

A 3D atlas of genetic activity in the human brain prior to birth is now available for research and the public, the National Institutes of Health announced earlier this month. The map was designed to further brain disorders including schizophrenia and autism.

The BrainSpan Atlas of the Developing Human Brain was developed by the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. The map marries genetic switching of the transcriptome on the right hemisphere and anatomic information on the right with neuroimaging data all representing the unborn human brain at mid-pregnancy.

“Many neuropsychiatric diseases are likely the result of abnormal brain development during prenatal life,” said lead researcher Ed Lein, PhD, from the Allen Institute, in a press release. “An anatomically precise molecular atlas of the brain during this time period is a first step to understanding how the human brain develops normally and what can go wrong.”

The project was meant to provide more accurate data about brain structure and function than is available via animal studies, especially for anatomy that is clearly different, including the neocortex and in the subplate zone, essential for the development of the cortices. The objective is to analyze the molecular basis of cortical development in humans that includes all active genes. Numerous brain disorders reveal genetic alteration in the cortex.

This project was made possible by the donation of four human prenatal brains procured from preterm stillbirths between 15 and 21 weeks after conception. Partnering research teams have provided additional imaging and genomic data.

“Although the many genes associated with autism and schizophrenia don’t show a clear relationship to each other in the adult brain, the BrainSpan Atlas reveals how these diverse genes are connected in the developing brain,” said director of the National Institute of Mental Health Thomas R. Insel, MD. “Findings of what goes on early in the prenatal brain can lead to the development of biomarkers for diagnosing brain disorders and for matching patients to treatment options most likely to be successful."