ALLEN Developing Mouse Brain Atlas
Introduction
The ALLEN Developing Mouse Brain Atlas fulfills a long-standing request from the scientific community for a detailed map of how genes change during the development of the brain. The resulting developmental atlas of gene expression has the potential to advance understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, and adult-onset disorders with developmental roots, such as schizophrenia.
.
About the Atlas
Building upon the ALLEN Mouse Brain Atlas for the adult mouse, the Allen Developing Mouse Brain Atlas provides a framework to explore both when and where genes are expressed, or “turned on”, in the mouse brain at multiple stages of development spanning the life cycle. Effectively a four-dimensional map detailing gene expression across the three dimensions of space as well as time, this unique resource has the potential not only to advance understanding of brain disorders with developmental origins, but also to uncover new opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Genes discovered to be important for healthy brain development may be leveraged to slow the progression of degenerative diseases, prevent life-changing secondary brain damage from stroke, or repair brain tissue already damaged by injury or disease.
Providing comprehensive anatomic coverage of the brain and spanning the lifecycle, the Allen Developing Mouse Brain Atlas comprises detailed gene expression data for approximately 2,000 genes, an integrated anatomic reference atlas custom-drawn by Luis Puelles, M.D., Ph.D., and a suite of sophisticated navigation, analysis and viewing tools. As for the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas, the gene expression data was generated using an industrialized version of a process called in situ hybridization, which pinpoints and marks where a gene is expressed in thin tissue sections, offering microscopic detail down to the cellular level.
Key Features
- Open, public online access
- Image-based data for approximately 2,000 genes, surveyed across the entire brain
- Microscopic resolution down to the cellular level
- Coverage of multiple stages of development, from mid-gestation through old age
- Powerful data analysis, navigation and visualization tools to facilitate data access and mining
- Detailed anatomic reference atlases of the developing mouse brain that can be viewed with the data
“ The developing brain atlas provides a molecular narrative of how the genetic map of the brain unfolds in space and time. The atlas will be invaluable in gaining insight into the origins of certain behavioral disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism, which are increasingly thought to result from abnormalities of brain development. ”