Researchers decode patterns that make our brains human

Kurzweil reports that

Allen Institute researchers have identified a surprisingly small set of just 32 gene-expression patterns for all 20,000 genes across 132 functionally distinct human brain regions, and these patterns appear to be common to all individuals.

...Surprisingly, genes associated with neurons were most conserved (consistent) across species, while those for the supporting glial cells showed larger differences. The most highly stable genes (the genes that were most consistent across all brains) include those associated with diseases and disorders like autism and Alzheimer’s, and these genes include many existing drug targets.

...“The human brain is phenomenally complex, so it is quite surprising that a small number of patterns can explain most of the gene variability across the brain,” says Christof Koch, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. “There could easily have been thousands of patterns, or none at all. This gives us an exciting way to look further at the functional activity that underlies the uniquely human brain.”

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