A consortium of researchers has produced the largest and most advanced multidimensional maps of gene regulation networks in the brains of people with and without mental disorders. These maps detail the many regulatory elements that coordinate the brain's biological pathways and cellular functions. The research, supported the National Institutes of Health (NIH), used postmortem brain tissue from over 2,500 donors to map gene regulation networks across different stages of brain development and multiple brain-related disorders.
These groundbreaking findings advance our understanding of where, how , and when genetic risk contributes to mental disorders such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Moreover, the critical resources, shared freely, will help researchers pinpoint genetic variants that are likely to play a causal role in mental illnesses and identify potential molecular targets for new therapeutics." Joshua A.
Gordon, M.D., Ph.
D., Director of NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) The research is published across 15 papers in Science , Science Advances , and Scientific Reports . The papers report findings along several key themes: The analyses expand on previous findings, exploring multiple cortical and subcortical regions of the human brain.
These brain areas play key roles in a range of essential processes, including decision-making, memory, learning, emotion, reward processing, and motor control. Approximately 2% of the human geno.