Genes to Brains

Over the years scientists have carefully mapped the brain, figuring out which regions perform different functions. Techniques such as functional MRI can show exactly which parts are active when people are doing all kinds of other tasks. Detailed microscopy and brain-scanning studies have traced the intricate network of connections between nerve cells in the brain, revealing the inner wiring of this powerful biological computer. But until now, nobody has tried to link patterns of gene activity into this functional and structural information. For the first time, researchers have generated this map of the brain, with each colour highlighting a particular group of genes that seem to be linked to that region. There are many variations in human genes that can influence traits and conditions affecting the brain, such as intelligence or autism, and this is the first step towards figuring out exactly how these genetic variations might exert their effects.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

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Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image from work by Qian Peng and colleagues
• Department of Human Biology, J. Craig Venter Institute, and Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Genetics, July 2016