Human and Mammalian Brain Atlas

The Human and Mammalian Brain Atlas (HMBA) consortium aims to create new whole brain human and non-human primate cell atlases linked to functional brain architecture. Single cell transcriptomic, epigenomic and spatial transcriptomics will be used to classify and spatially map cell types across the entire human, macaque and marmoset brain, sampling based on brain maps derived from structural and functional imaging, with additional targeted analyses to understand variation across human individuals and a broader range of mammalian species. Molecularly defined cell types will be characterized for cellular anatomy and physiology, using enhancer-AAV based tools to allow selective genetic labeling of cell types where possible. The outcome of these efforts will produce a new reference classification for cell types across the whole human and NHP brain, spatial maps of molecularly defined cell types, and phenotypic characterization of fundamental brain cell types, all aligned in common coordinate frameworks. This effort will create new multiscale, high resolution brain atlases integrating structural, functional, cellular and molecular information between human and non-human primate and rodent model organisms.