Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 10 hrs ago
Researchers map cells in a brain region linked to movement and disease
An international research team has created a cell atlas of the basal ganglia, a group of structures deep inside the brain.
The atlas draws on information from 25.5 million brain cells in humans and other species, including mice and monkeys.
The basal ganglia help control movement, habits, decision-making and emotion.
Problems in this region are linked to conditions including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and addiction.
The atlas records which genes are active in different cells and how those cells are regulated, shaped and located.
Its cross-species map gives researchers a shared reference for comparing brain cells and studying how animal models relate to human disease.
The work is basic research, and treatments based on the findings are still years away; researchers aim to build a broader atlas covering the human brain by 2028.
An international research team has published a cross-species cellular atlas of the basal ganglia, a brain region involved in movement, emotions, motivation and habits.
The atlas draws on data from 25.5 million cells, including 21 million human cells, and covers humans, mice, macaques and marmosets.
The work is presented in 26 articles in the journal Cell and provides a shared reference for comparing brain cell types and gene activity.
Researchers identified a new brain cell type linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, among other findings.
The atlas is basic research that could guide future treatments, but therapies based on it remain years away.
- Who
- A coalition of researchers from 56 institutions across nine countries, including scientists at the Allen Institute.
- What
- The team published a cellular atlas of the basal ganglia across four species.
- When
- The research was published on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
- Where
- The atlas covers the basal ganglia in humans, mice, macaques and marmosets.
- Why
- To give researchers a shared reference for comparing cells and gene activity, and to support research into brain function and disease.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The BRAIN Initiative began, aiming to advance understanding of the brain.
The research was published in a package of 26 articles in Cell.
The Allen Institute’s target date for a comprehensive cross-species cell atlas of the entire human brain is sometime in 2028.
- Institutions
- 56 across nine countries
- Cells studied
- 25.5 million, including 21 million human cells
- Species
- Humans, mice, macaques and marmosets
- Publication
- 26 articles in Cell
- Brain region
- Basal ganglia
5 sources
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What people are saying
This is groundwork that is necessary to really make progress
AI is a perfect tool
It is a major milestone in our journey toward a comprehensive, detailed, multimodal, cross-species aligned cell atlas for the entire human brain
Therapies built on the new work are still years away