Table 1 Summary of convergent results on the biological and clinical relevance of three human brain transcriptional programs

From: Cortical gene expression architecture links healthy neurodevelopment to the imaging, transcriptomics and genetics of autism and schizophrenia

  

C1: neuronal hierarchy

C2: cognitive metabolism

C3: adolescent plasticity

Normative

Biological processes

(Fig. 1c)

Most genes are aligned, especially PVALB, SST

Metabolism

Epigenetics

Synaptic plasticity

Learning/memory

Immunity

Architectonics

(Fig. 1d)

L4

L1, L2, L6

L4, L5, L6

L2

L2, L3, L4, L5, L6

L1, white matter

Cell types

(Fig. 1e)

Oligodendrocytes

Astrocytes

Synapses

Endothelial cells

Synapses, Neurons

Oligodendrocytes, Microglia

GWAS

(Fig. 1f,g)

Educational attainment

Intelligence/cognition

Educational attainment

Intelligence/cognition

Educational attainment

Imaging

(Fig. 2)

fMRI degree

T1w/T2w

Cortical thickness

MEG theta power

Aerobic glycolysis

Adolescent change in myelination

Development

(Fig. 3b,c)

Prenatal, greatest expression at birth

Prenatal, greatest expression in first decade

Adolescence, greatest expression in adulthood

Atypical

Imaging

(Fig. 4a,b,g)

ASD volume shrinkage

ASD volume shrinkage

SCZ volume shrinkage and L2/L3-specific thinning

RNA-seq of brain tissue

(Fig. 4c,f)

ASD DEGs

ASD DEGs

SCZ DEGs, with

L2, L3 enrichment

GWAS

(Fig. 4d,f)

ASD risk genes

ASD risk genes

SCZ risk genes, with

L2, L3 enrichment

  1. Each of three components of normative human brain gene expression (C1–C3; table columns) was biologically validated by testing for enrichment of gene weights on each component and for co-location of regional component scores with neuroimaging or other macroscale brain phenotypes, in healthy brain samples (normative) and in studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (atypical). Each row summarizes results for a distinct gene enrichment analysis (italicized) or spatial co-location analysis (plain font). Based on previous knowledge that theta oscillations are linked to intelligence and cognition92 as well as to glucose metabolism93, the spatial alignments between C2 and maps of MEG theta power (Fig. 2d) and aerobic glycolysis (Fig. 2a) were convergent with the enrichment of C2 for genes linked to cognitive capacity (Fig. 1f,g) and metabolism (Fig. 1c). Similarly, previous knowledge implicates microglia and oligodendrocytes in the immune-mediated synaptic pruning and myelination that, over adolescence, gives rise to adult cognitive capacity94,95, such that the spatial alignment between C3 and the map of adolescent myelination (Fig. 2d) was convergent with the enrichments of C3 for genes related to immunity, synaptic development and learning (Fig. 1c); oligodendrocytes, microglia and synapses (Fig. 1e); and cognitive capacity (Fig. 1f,g), among which one GWAS explicitly linked intelligence to myelination41. SCZ, schizophrenia.