Thoughts and feelings are separated in a new genetic map of the brain

Many psychiatric disorders have genetic causes, but the exact mechanism of how genes influence higher brain functions remains a mystery. A new study provides a map linking the genetic signature of functions across the human brain, a tool that may provide new targets for future treatments.

Led by Bratislav Misic, a researcher at the Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hôpital) at McGill University, a group of scientists performed a machine learning analysis of two Open Science datasets: the gene expression atlas of the Allen Human Brain Atlas and the Neurosynth Functional Association Map. This allowed them to find associations between gene expression patterns and functional brain tasks such as memory, attention and mood.

Interestingly, the team found a clear genetic signal that separated cognitive processes, like attention, from more emotional processes, like fear. This separation can be attributed to gene expression in specific cell types and molecular pathways, providing key information for future research on psychiatric disorders. Cognition, for example, was more related to the genetic signatures of inhibitory or excitatory neurons. Affective processes, however, were linked to supporting cells such as microglia and astrocytes, supporting a theory that inflammation of these cells is a risk factor for mental illness. The affect-related genetic signature centered on a region of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex, which has been shown to be vulnerable in cases of mental illness.

Published in the journal Nature Human Behavior on March 25, 2021, this study establishes a direct link between gene expression and higher brain function, by mapping genetic signatures to functional processes in the human brain.

“In this work, we found molecular signatures of different psychological processes,” says Misic. “It’s exciting because it is a first step in understanding how human thoughts and emotions originate from specific genes, biological pathways and cell types.

Reference: Hansen JY, Markello RD, Vogel JW et al. Mapping of gene transcription and neurocognition across the human neocortex. Nat. Hmm. Behaviour. 2021: 1-11. doi: 10.1038 / s41562-021-01082-z

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