Study reveals how cell types shape human brain networks

Rutgers Health study findings offer deeper understanding of mental health conditions and cognition

Rutgers researchers from the Brain Health Institute (BHI) and the Center for Human Brain Imaging Research (CAHBIR) have discovered how different types of brain cells work together to form large-scale functional networks in the human brain – interconnected systems that support every , from sensory. processing in complex decision-making—paving the way for new insights into brain health and disease.

By identifying these cellular foundations, studypublished in Nature Neuroscienceprovides a deeper understanding of the cellular foundations of cognition and mental health.

These findings highlight a link between the functional organization of the human brain and its cellular foundations.

Abraham Holmes

Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Senior Faculty Member, Rutgers Brain Health Institute and Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research

The functional properties of the brain come from the different types of cells in its cortex, the outer layer responsible for many complex mental tasks. A major goal in neuroscience research is to understand how our genetic, molecular, and cellular processes support the brain’s organizational properties as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Historically, scientists have studied the properties of brain organization by examining post-mortem tissue samples or using invasive techniques in animals, such as studying tissue structure (histology), tracing neural pathways, measuring electrical activity (electrophysiology), or observing changes after certain areas have been damaged. (methods of injury).

Advances in genetics and technology now allow researchers to more precisely study how brain cells are organized in human tissue. In this study, Rutgers researchers used recently developed postmortem gene expression atlases, which map how genes are differentially expressed in brain regions, to explore how different cell types can spatially align with studies of brain networks in the general population.

The researchers found that certain cell type distributions align with specific networks in the cerebral cortex, both at the level of individual cell types and multivariate cell profiles, or fingerprints.

“These findings highlight a link between the functional organization of the human brain and its cellular underpinnings,” said the lead author. Abraham Holmesassociate professor of psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and core faculty member Rutgers Institute for Brain Health and the Center for Advanced Research in Human Brain Imaging.

“The study has significant implications for understanding the cellular basis of brain functions in health and disease,” Holmes said.

This research sets the stage for future studies to explore how our various cell types work together in brain networks and to test other potential models of how cells contribute to brain function.

Future studies should examine ways to integrate the hierarchical structure of these diverse cell definitions into analyzes and consider alternative models of brain function in vivo, Holmes said.