Scientists Generate Single-Cell “Atlas” of Primate Brain (Rhesus Macaque) to Help Explore Links Between Molecules, Cells, Brain Function, and Disease

A longstanding mystery in science is how the over 100 million individual neurons work together to form a network that forms the basis of who we are – every human thought, emotion, and behavior. Mapping these constellations of cells and discovering their function have been long-standing goals of scores of 21^st century molecular cartographers working worldwide as part of the National Institutes of Health’s “Brain Initiative Cell Census Network” project. The overarching purpose of the atlas is to aid in the development of neuroscience research. The hope of the project is that it will allow scientists to gain a better understanding of brain diseases and hard-to-solve medical mysteries behind disorders such as autism and depression. Now, a series of new studies published in the September 13, 2023 issue of Science Advances has revealed the widespread profiles of the inner molecular workings of the brain at an unprecedented level and scale. This special issue of Science Advances has the focus of “Brain Cell Census’’ and is complemented by a special issue of Science with the same focus. One of the Science Advances open-access articles is titled “A Single-Cell Multi-Omic Atlas Spanning the Adult Rhesus Macaque Brain.”